Behind Her Back
by svgirl
Summary: Elizabeth discovers that she has feelings for Jessica's new boyfriend that are not entirely one sided. COMPLETED!
1. The Right Image

This is my newest story and I hope you all enjoy it! It takes place at the   
beginning of senior year and there is one little change: the earthquake   
did not destroy Elizabeth and Jessica's house. The other changes,   
hopefully, are obvious. 

"Does this skirt make me look fat?" Jessica said, turning sideways in   
front of the mirror.  
"Jessica you could be wearing a sheet and still look skinny as a rail,"   
Elizabeth said rolling her eyes.  
Jessica pulled off the skirt and threw it into the growing pile of clothes on   
Elizabeth's bed. "I just want to look good," Jessica stated as she pulled   
on a pair of white shorts. "Your senior year only comes once, you know."   
She glanced over at her sister's outfit. "You can borrow something of mine   
if you want," she offered.  
Elizabeth glanced down at her khaki's, white t-shirt and navy blue cardigan.   
"This is how I always dress."  
"Well…maybe you need a change. It's a new school year and you can't start   
your senior year looking like the school _secretary_."  
"I'm comfortable with who I am," Elizabeth said clipping her hair back.   
Elizabeth knew she was lying. Her clothes _were_ kind of boring and it didn't   
make it easier that her sister looked liked she had stepped out of fashion   
show. But Elizabeth wasn't trying to impress anyone. Even though she had   
broken up with Todd that summer there wasn't any particular guy she was   
trying to attract. 

Tears began to well up in Elizabeth's eyes that afternoon. She quickly wiped   
them away and pulled out her compact. She didn't want anyone to see her   
crying, she was a senior after all. She turned on the faucet and splashed   
some cold water on her face.  
How did everything change so much over the summer?  
When she had gotten to school that morning all the girls were wearing ultra   
trendy outfits and everyone had gotten so cliquey. Elizabeth really did look   
like a forty year old. Mrs. Engel, the home ec teacher, had on Elizabeth's   
same outfit. Elizabeth pulled off her cardigan and jammed it into her bag. She   
pulled her hair clips out and brushed her hair loose. She forced a smile but that   
only made her look worse. She left the restroom and dashed down the hall to   
her last class before lunch, creative writing. Apparently her bathroom break   
had made her a little late and when she arrived she only saw one empty seat.   
She took it. Next to her was a red haired boy but sitting in front of him was the   
most gorgeous guy Elizabeth had ever laid eyes on. He wasn't the type of guy   
she was normally attracted to. He was wearing beat up jeans and a faded black   
t-shirt but somehow on him it looked exactly right. Elizabeth felt herself blush   
but the guy didn't even seem to notice her.  
Mr. Quigley took role and Elizabeth noted that the guy raised his hand   
on 'Conner McDermott'.  
Conner McDermott.  
Perfect.  
Their names just sounded _so_ right together.  
Elizabeth and Conner.  
Conner and Elizabeth McDermott.  
Could you picture their children?  
Elizabeth tried to push the thoughts away. She never obsessed about boys   
the way Jessica and her friends did. But Elizabeth could keep her mind, or   
her eyes, off of him. She noticed all kinds of things about him. He was   
right handed. When he was bored he drummed his fingers on the desktop.   
He chewed on his pencil. When they got up to leave class, Conner turned   
her way to talk to the red haired guy. Elizabeth noted the most beautiful   
green eyes she had ever seen. 

"Tia Ramierz?"  
"Yeah, that's me."  
"Hi, I'm Jessica Wakefield," the blond girl said smiling brightly as the group   
stood in line at lunch. "I know you were on the El Carro cheerleading squad   
and I just wanted to let you know that tryouts are tomorrow at four."   
"I'll make sure to grab my pom-poms," Conner said sarcastically and Tia   
rolled her eyes.  
"I'm sorry!" Jessica said brightly. "But I don't think you have the right…image."  
Conner looked surprised.  
"You know," Jessica continued. "I don't think that the short skirt would   
compliment your legs." She glanced at him again. "Or your butt."  
Tia burst out laughing.  
Conner gave Jessica an appreciative gaze and looked her over. In a short   
black skirt and a white halter-top, Jessica was nothing short of stunning. "I   
guess I'll have to start my own squad then," Conner said grinning.  
Jessica pulled a scrap of paper from her bag and scribbled on it. "Call me   
to give me more information. I wouldn't mind joining your _squad_." She winked.  
"Scoring with the head cheerleader!" Tia said after Jessica had walked away.   
"Not exactly your type, is she?"  
"I don't know," Conner said shrugging. "She's hot."  
"She's also a twin," Andy supplied. "I think her sister is in our creative   
writing class."  
"Really? I think I would have noticed her." Conner said popping a Dorito   
into his mouth.  
"She was sitting next to me," Andy offered.  
"You mean _her_? The girl that looked liked the school counselor?"  
"She looks just like Jessica."  
"Yeah, but she's so dowdy and shy looking."  
"I think she looks nice. I've heard from several people that she's like the nicest   
smartest girl in the whole school," Andy said.  
"So are you going to call Jessica?" Tia asked knowingly.  
"Maybe," Conner said leaning back on his chair. "She seems…cool. Definitely   
one of the best looking girls here."  
"I wonder if I should warn her before I try out for her squad that you'll just   
dump her," Tia said laughing.  
Conner shot Tia a dark look. But in a way she was right. He probably would   
dump her. But it still would be worth it to date the most popular girl at Sweet   
Valley. 

"You sleep in a sleeping bag on Andy's floor?" Jessica said giggling.  
"Yeah, my house got totaled. Conner said. "Tia's family is huge and my   
friend Evan's house was destroyed."  
"I'm just lucky our house was okay." Jessica rolled her eyes. "My sister's   
drippy friend spent the summer with us." She stared at Conner, who   
was sitting behind her. "Hey, my brother Steven is at college and his room   
is just sitting there empty…if you want I'll ask my parents if you can, you   
know, stay with us for a while."  
Conner gave her a blank stare. "We've known each other for how long?"  
"I know," Jessica said quietly. She was silent for a moment. "You know what,   
forget it."  
"Usually I take a girl out before I move in with her but since I desperately   
need a place to stay…"  
Jessica broke into a huge grin and it was all Conner could do not to grab   
her and kiss her.  
"I'll have to ask my parents but they'll be cool with it. Will your parents be   
okay with it?"  
Conner shifted uncomfortably and clenched his jaw. "They'll be fine with it."  
"Are you sure?" Jessica asked, scrunching her nose.  
"_**Yes**_," Conner snapped.  
"Oh," Jessica said, hurt.  
Conner knew he had disappointed her but it's not like he owed her anything.   
But he did change the subject. "So do you have any siblings or weird pets?"  
"No," Jessica said smiling nervously. "Just me and my parents. Steven is at   
school. And there's Elizabeth, my twin sister. Have you met her yet?"  
"I've seen her. It's hard to believe she's your sister."  
"Yeah, she's a fashion ignoramus but at least she got rid of her favorite   
accessory, Todd. Elizabeth is the nicest, loyalist, most selfless person   
I have met. She's gotten me out of so much trouble and messes."  
"She sounds, uh, interesting."  
"She's really great," Jessica assured him. "She can be kind of bossy at times,   
and she acts like my older sister _way_ to much but I couldn't live without her.   
She's my best friend."  
"That's total cheese," Conner said grinning at her.  
"I know," Jessica, said turning back to the front of the class as the teacher   
walked in. 


	2. From Boys to Men

"So let me get this straight," Lila said flipping through a magazine.   
She was perched on Jessica's floor while Jessica was sprawled out across   
the bed. "You want your parents to let a guy you have a crush on to   
stay in your brother's room?"  
"That's right," Jessica said idly as she painted her nails.  
"And, he's like the hottest guy in the entire school though he isn't   
_really_ my type…" Lila continued.  
"I don't know," Jessica said smiling. "He's so mysterious. Like there's   
something you know he's not telling. But he doesn't talk much and it's   
really easy to tick him off. But, that _bod_! Those _eyes_!" Jessica said   
grinning mischievously.  
"You really think your parents will let him stay here?" Lila asked   
dubiously.  
"I hope so. I just won't mention the fact that all I want to do is   
throw him on my bed and kiss him like crazy."  
"That's a great selling line," Lila said rolling her eyes. "Make _sure_   
you tell your parents that!"  
"I think he actually wants to come live here," Jessica said rolling   
over. "But he didn't seem to thrilled about Liz being here."  
"Can you blame him? Elizabeth is _boring_. Actually, she's so boring she   
gives regular boring people a bad name. I would never want to live with   
her."  
"You're trying out on Wednesday, right Li?" Jessica said changing the   
subject. She didn't like it when people talked bad about her twin. Even   
if Liz _was_ boring.  
"Yeah, I guess so."  
"I went around to all the El Carro girls that were cheerleaders,"   
Jessica said. "They all seemed really nice. Maybe having an infested squad   
won't be so bad after all."  
"What are you going to do about El Carro's captain, Melanie Bear or   
something like that." Lila gave Jessica a look. "She's in my English class   
and she seemed really intense and really in control of her   
surroundings."  
"Melissa Fox," Jessica corrected. "I got that feeling too. But she   
seems like she'd be okay if she were on your good side. She was with her   
boyfriend, the El Carro football captain, Will Simmons. She has that boy   
_whipped_. As soon as I mentioned that I had a crush on Conner she was   
able to relax as soon as she knew I wasn't going to steal her boyfriend   
or anything."  
"Now Will is cute," Lila said giggling.  
"He's okay," Jessica said nonchalantly. "If you like the type."  
"Jess, he's like Mr. Joe Football. He's totally your type. Last year   
you would have already have broken up with him by now."  
"I kind of want something serious this year. I mean we _are_ seniors."  
"Yeah, I feel that way too. But someone older, a college sophomore is   
the absolute minimum."  
"You are such a snob, Li," Jessica said getting up and walking towards   
the door. "I wanted to make dinner tonight, you know to butter my   
parents up."  
Lila grabbed her bag. "Make sure you don't poison them this time!"  
"I didn't do that on purpose!" Jessica said shouting after Lila as she   
ran down the stairs.  
  
"Jessica this chicken is delicious," Mrs. Wakefield said smiling at her   
daughter."   
"These mashed potatoes are so creamy," Mr. Wakefield added.  
"Thanks," Jessica said beaming.  
"So how was your first day of school?" Mrs. Wakefield asked.  
"Great! I think this is going to be the best year ever!" Jessica burst   
out.  
"Is this because of some boy or are you actually excited about your   
classes?" Mr. Wakefield asked dryly.  
"Daddy!" Jessica said rolling her eyes. "I'm just not interested in   
boys this year."  
"What? Are you devoting more of your time to cheerleading and   
shopping?" Mrs. Wakefield said, her eyes twinkling.   
"I'm interested in _men_. I think I'm interested in having a serious   
relationship this year. I want someone to go to the movies with on the   
weekends or a dance partner and a guaranteed prom date!"  
Mr. Wakefield grinned, "I wonder how long this phase will last?"  
They all ate in silence for a few minutes.   
"Mom, would it be okay if I asked a friend from school, to stay in   
Steven's room because their house was damaged in the quake?"  
"Of course," Mrs. Wakefield said smiling. "That's very kind of you."  
"He's from El Carro and his name is Conner McDermott," Jessica said   
hurriedly.  
Elizabeth who had been silent the whole meal, suddenly choked on her   
milk.   
"A boy, Jessica?" Mr. Wakefield said.  
"Is this a boy you're interested in?" Mrs. Wakefield said.  
"No," Jessica lied. "He's been staying at his friend's house in a   
sleeping bag on the floor! His other friends either have guests or their own   
houses are totaled."  
"But we don't know anything about this Conner, do you really think his   
parents would be okay with letting him stay here?" Mr. Wakefield said.  
"He said they would be and he _is_ staying by himself at his friend Andy's   
house. He's a great guy and he doesn't smoke or anything like that and   
he's really quiet too."  
Mr. and Mrs. Wakefield glanced at each other. "Since he needs a place   
to stay…" Mr. Wakefield started.   
"Oh, this is great!" Jessica shrieked. "He was a little worried that he   
might not be allowed to stay and he was uncomfortable at first about   
Elizabeth being my sister…"  
Elizabeth turned bright red and ran out of the room.  
"I wonder what's wrong with Liz?" Mrs. Wakefield said, her voice full   
of concern.  
"Maybe she had a bad day at school," Jessica said lightly. "Could I be   
excused? I need to call Conner!"  
Jessica dashed up the steps to her room and ran her fingers through her   
hair and grabbed her phone. "Conner?" she purred sexily. "Oh, hey Andy.   
Yeah, I'll hold." Jessica paced her room. "Hey Conner! Guess what? My   
parents said you could move in! You want to move in tomorrow? That's   
great!" Jessica cooed. "And I would _love_ to go out with you on Friday."  
  
"I can't believe you're moving in with the two hottest girls in the   
entire school!" Evan exclaimed.  
"They're not that hot," Tia murmured irritably.  
"Are you kidding?" Evan sputtered. "The best thing is they're both   
available…though not for long."  
"I don't think Liz is _that_ hot," Conner said.  
"You are so shallow," Andy said rolling his eyes at Conner.  
"Did you get the calculus homework?" Tia asked. "I tried to do it but   
it's like totally impossible. I mean, I got it in class…"  
Conner leaned over to get his book out of his bag but Andy's foot   
accidentally nudged it and Conner stuff spilled all over the floor. He   
leaned over to gather up his stuff when he saw himself staring at the two   
most gorgeous legs he had ever seen. His eyes traveled up and they   
took in her slim features. She crouched down and gathered up his papers   
and books and handed them over to him. "Here," she said so softly that   
Conner could hardly hear her. Conner gazed into her gorgeous eyes and he   
knew in his gut that if told her about his family and everything that   
she would try to understand him and care about him even more. She got up   
and walked away and Conner snapped back from his trance.  
"See, I _told_ you she was perfect," he said triumphantly.  
Evan, Andy, and Tia were giving him strange looks.  
"Conner," Tia said quietly. "That wasn't Jessica. That was Elizabeth."  
Conner was silent for a moment. There was no way that that girl was   
Liz. The girl had been wearing a short babydoll sundress and her blond   
hair had been in waves.   
But…the girl's eyes. They had been softer and kinder than Jessica's.  
Conner tried to laugh it off. "Well, they look alike, I mean, they are   
twins!"  
Evan and Andy and Tia all looked down at their lunches and a few   
minutes later they were all discussing the new computer Evan had gotten and   
had forgotten about Conner's slip. All except Conner.  
  
"You weren't kidding when you said you traveled light," Jessica said   
giving Conner a huge smile.  
Conner grunted and lugged his amp up the stairs.  
"Wow!" Jessica squealed. "You play guitar? That's so…_sexy_," Jessica   
breathed. "Do you like, play in front of people?"  
Conner sighed. "Yeah, I'm playing at the House of Java this weekend."  
Jessica's eyes lit up. "Really? I can't wait to tell everyone!"  
Conner opened his mouth to protest but Jessica had already reached the   
second floor.   
"Oh, by the way you'll be sharing a bathroom with Liz. I took Steven's   
smaller one because I have a ton of stuff and I've always wanted my own   
bathroom!"  
Conner growled and Jessica ducked into her bedroom. She couldn't figure   
out why Conner was being so grouchy. Maybe it was the stress of moving.   
She was dressed to kill and she had turned up the flirting. None of her   
usual tricks were working and it was frustrating Jessica. But a slow   
smile spread across her face. There was nothing she liked more than a   
challenge."  
  
Conner threw his guitar case on the bed. He surveyed the room.   
Obviously Jessica's brother had taken most of his stuff with him because the   
room was devoid of any personality. But there was a nice large bed and a   
desk.  
But Conner was beginning to think that moving here was a bad idea.   
Jessica was getting _too_ friendly. Conner liked her but he didn't want   
Jessica getting the wrong idea. He didn't want her getting the idea that he   
was interested in a long-term relationship because Conner was not the   
kind of guy who invested time into a relationship. Even girls like   
Jessica Wakefield.  
Conner sank onto the bed. What had he been thinking? He couldn't _date_   
Jessica now, especially if he was planning on dumping her. She'd kick   
him out for sure and there would he be? Back on Andy's floor.  
Conner ran his hands through his scruffy hair. He was all hot and   
sweaty from all the lifting and carrying. He grabbed his towel from one of   
the boxes and headed towards the bathroom.   
That was the other thing, how was he supposed to share a bathroom with   
Elizabeth Wakefield?  
The geek turned hottie. Not that she wasn't hot before…just boring. He   
flung open the door from the hall and entered.  
There was a shriek and Conner's face got blasted by hot steam. He   
squinted and his eyes focused on a fuming Elizabeth, wrapped in nothing but   
a towel. 


	3. Blithering Idiot

"WHAT are you doing?!" Elizabeth shrieked. "Don't you knock?"  
"Uh…" Conner stammered. He knew he should leave. Technically, the   
second Elizabeth had shrieked, he should have left. That was what normal   
people in this situation did. But with Elizabeth staring at him in pure   
fury, and her chest heaving against the towel, Conner found that he was   
practically glued to the spot. Then Conner smirked. This was just   
another girl that was no different from the rest. He could play cool; all he   
had to do was let his sweating body in on it.  
"You can't pin this all on me, you know. What kind of person takes a   
shower with the door unlocked? You're just asking for someone to barge   
in. Or maybe you _wanted_ me to come in," he said raising an eyebrow and   
motioning to the shower stall.  
Elizabeth was now turning an interesting shade of purple. Conner   
smiled. God, it had been a long time since he had really smiled.  
"My parents don't use this bathroom and I don't care if Jessica sees   
me. Anyone else would have had the courtesy to knock. And you are by far   
the most arrogant, rude person I have ever met!" Elizabeth said   
crossing her arms over her chest.   
Conner stared at her, unsure of what to say. Where were all his snide   
comments that usually reduced any female to a puddle? Conner was used to   
being in control, not being taunted by a half nude girl whose twin   
sister he was seeing. Conner moved his eyes away from her face but that was   
a mistake because Elizabeth's legs were hardly covered by the short   
towel. "Uh, I'll knock next time if you lock the door." How pitiful was   
that? Conner never gave in, but the small smile playing on Elizabeth's   
lips was worth it. Almost.   
"Okay," she said calmly. "Sounds fair." She gave him a pointed look.   
"Now don't go bragging to all your friends that you caught me in a   
towel."  
Conner's smile grew larger and he stepped closer to her. He was pleased   
to note her uncertainty. "I most certainly will. There is no way that   
I'm keeping this quiet."  
Elizabeth stepped closer still so that she was practically pressed up   
against him. Conner drew in a breath and found himself struggling to   
breathe. Was she going to kiss him?  
"You tell that little story," Elizabeth whispered into his ear, her   
breath tickling him causing him to loose total speech control. This girl   
could ask Conner to be his love slave and he would probably give  
in. "And I'll just let it slip that seeing Elizabeth Wakefield in a   
towel caused the king of cool to be reduced to a stammering idiot." She   
smiled and sauntered out.  
Conner let out a huge breath and sunk against the door. What the heck   
had just happened? Had Elizabeth actually gotten the better of him?   
Conner covered his face with his hands. It had to have been the combination   
of the stress, the steam, and the towel. Because there was no way on   
earth that he was actually attracted to Elizabeth Wakefield.  
  
"That was great everybody!" Jessica called out. "The results will be   
posted on Monday. Good luck!" Jessica smiled brightly at all the   
cheerleaders. She strolled over to Melissa Fox and her friends. The red haired   
and black haired girls gave her a wary look and then glanced over at   
Melissa.   
"What's up?" Melissa said, smoothing down her shorts.  
"I wanted to talk to you," Jessica said shifting. "Alone."  
The other two girls scowled and walked off towards the locker room.   
"Your lackeys?" Jessica asked, bemused.  
"Something like that," Melissa said with a slight smile but her eyes   
remained cautious.   
"Listen, I know you're probably upset about not being captain this   
year. If that had happened to me, I would be seriously ticked off. But I   
was talking with Coach Laufeld and we looked over the tapes of old El   
Carro games and we both decided that you're an awesome cheerleader. Way   
better than anyone here today."  
"So?" Melissa said bitingly. "You just wanted to rub it in my face that   
you're going to be bossing me around?"  
"Normally, yes," Jessica said laughing. "But I need your help. There's   
going to be a bunch of new girls on the squad that I know nothing   
about. I was thinking we could be co-captains. It would make blending   
two different squads way easier."  
Melissa was silent for a minute. "Are you kidding?" Jessica shook her   
head. "Thanks," Melissa said quietly. "That's great."  
Jessica turned to walk away.   
"Jessica," Melissa said suddenly. "How would you like to hang out with   
my friends at the Riot on Saturday night?"  
Jessica hesitated. "After Conner's gig," Melissa said grinning.  
"Okay," Jessica said. "Thanks." It wouldn't hurt to get close to El   
Carro's most popular students. After all the blending of the two groups   
was inevitable. And Melissa seemed cool.  
Jessica headed towards the parking lot. She'd take a shower at home;   
she really wanted to see Conner.   
"Hey, Jess!" a voice called out.  
"Hey, Tia," Jessica said smiling. "Awesome stuff today."  
Tia shrugged. "So how's stoic boy? Is he adjusting okay?"  
"Yeah, he's fine," Jessica, said. "A little cranky."  
"That's normal," Tia said grinning. "How are things between you two?"   
she said giggling.  
"Great! We have a date on Friday. But there's one thing. He's so short   
tempered sometimes and distant…am I doing something wrong?"  
Tia hesitated a minute. "I love Conner, he's been my best friend   
forever and he's a great friend…but he's kind of an idiot when it comes to   
relationships. He's had _a lot_ of girlfriends; he'll date a girl then dump   
her before it gets to serious. He can be pretty cruel sometimes. But   
everyone is still all gaga over him."  
"Oh," Jessica said.  
"But I'm sure he can change," Tia said quickly, noting the crestfallen   
look on Jessica's face. "I've always believed that there is one special   
girl out there that will make Conner break all his stupid rules."  
"Actually, you just described me in a way. I've dated a lot of guys,   
casually, but I wasn't cruel…"  
Tia placed a hand on Jessica's arm. "Listen, you're really great and I   
know Conner thinks so too. I hope you're it, but I thought you should   
know the game."  
"Thanks."  
"Oh, about the sarcasm and temper…he's like that with everyone!" Tia   
said laughing.   
Jessica grinned and started the jeep. She was going to knock Conner's   
socks off!  
  
"That was fun," Jessica said a few nights later. Her and Conner were   
standing on the front step.  
"Yeah," Conner said.  
"You wanna come in?" Jessica said teasingly. "My parents aren't some   
and neither is Liz…" Jessica trailed a finger along his chest.  
Conner sighed. The date had been okay. Not horrible, but nothing   
special. Basically they had spent the whole night talking about cheerleading,   
acting, and Jessica's friends.   
If Conner had wanted a gossip report he could have hung out with Tia   
and saved himself forty dollars.  
But Jessica was a lot of fun and she radiated energy and charm. And she was   
breathtakingly beautiful. Suddenly another blond face popped into his   
head but he quickly shoved it out. He wasn't ready to let go of Jessica   
yet. "Where's Liz?" he blurted out and he mentally kicked himself.   
"I don't know," Jessica said irritably. She unlocked the door and led   
Conner to the den. She flipped on the TV and motioned Conner to sit down   
next to her on the couch.  
Conner obliged. He leaned over and took in her delicate features. He   
kissed her lightly on the lips. When they pulled apart, Jessica rested   
her hands on his shoulders. "Did you have fun tonight?" she asked him.  
"Yeah," Conner said. _Especially now_.  
Jessica smiled and leaned in. The kisses became harder, more insistent.   
Conner pushed Jessica up against the pillows and tangled his hands in   
her hair. "Oh, Liz," he moaned between kisses.   
Jessica moaned back.  
Conner felt mortified. Thankfully his moan had sounded garbled because   
Jessica said been chewing at his lip. He was making out with the   
sexiest girl on the planet and he'd moaned her sister's name? Her twin   
sister? Conner rationalized it was because he was still seeing Elizabeth in   
that damn towel. Just a fantasy. Conner moved his hands down Jessica   
back but suddenly pulled away.  
"Jessica," he whispered. "I thought I heard something. Like a door."  
"It was just the TV," Jessica said impatiently.   
They started kissing again and he closed his eyes. He pictured Jessica   
smiling…Elizabeth in a towel…Elizabeth's lips on his chest…  
Conner's eyes flew open. Elizabeth standing there in horror. Conner's   
eyes widened. It must have been Elizabeth at the door. Conner stared   
back at her in shock.   
"Oh, Conner, don't stop," Jessica moaned. Conner had been massaging her   
back.  
He was still staring at Elizabeth and he could see the hurt in her   
eyes. That sad look wrenched his heart. Elizabeth turned and fled the room.  
Conner just felt like a dog.


	4. Stone Heart

"Cause you can't let her into your heart…" Conner sang. He paused and   
ran his fingers through his hair. How come everything he tried to write   
sounded so pathetic? And he was playing at the House of Java tonight   
and he _really_ didn't want to be booed off stage. He glanced out the   
window that faced the Wakefield's back yard. He saw the pool that Jessica   
had mentioned and he could feel the cool water washing away his   
tension. He also saw one of the twins sitting in a green lounge chair reading   
a book on the deck. _Elizabeth_ Conner thought. He felt his heart skip   
and he immediately hated himself for it. He had never felt like this   
over a girl before and he shouldn't be feeling like this over Elizabeth   
of all people. She was the one girl he could never get involved with.   
Girls had that stupid rule: Never date a guy your best friend dated. Not   
only was Jessica her best friend she was her twin sister for crying out   
loud! But then why did Conner feel this way?  
Seeing her gave Conner a new burst of energy. He repositioned himself   
on the large bed and closed his eyes. He tried to find a beat that he   
liked and then he scribbled one down on a scrap of paper.  
"You catch a look…" Conner stopped.  
"You catch a glimpse of her blond hair…" he stopped again and erased.  
"You catch a glimpse of her sun streaked hair…"  
And hour later Conner played through the whole song and when he   
finished he broke into a grin. It was one of the best songs that he had   
written. It was perfect for tonight. He got up and unplugged his guitar   
feeling optimistic about tonight. Suddenly he realized something. He gave   
his amp a good hard kick. He swore under his breath and fell onto the   
bed. What had he been thinking? He couldn't _play_ this song in public.   
True, Jessica would probably think that it was about her and go all doe   
eyed on him and fall even more in love with him. After all, writing a   
song about a girl was right up there with buying her diamonds and telling   
her that you loved her in front of a huge crowd of people after you had   
embarrassed yourself for her sake. Something that Conner would never   
do. But Elizabeth had inspired the song. Her sweetness, her smile, her   
passion. It was like song cheating on Jessica. Something Conner knew   
would get him into trouble.   
Conner didn't even know if Elizabeth liked him. They hadn't spoken much   
since the bathroom incident. But sometimes at dinner Conner would catch   
her looking at him with an odd expression filled with longing when she   
thought that he wasn't looking. Conner had never been that attracted to   
another human being and his feelings scared him.  
He grabbed his bathing suit and changed quickly. He went downstairs and   
opened the deck door and stopped out onto the hot wooden surface.   
He threw himself onto the lounge chair next to Liz.   
Liz glanced up, startled.  
"Hey," he said lazily. "Catching some rays?"  
"Rye," Elizabeth said settling back into her chair and turned her   
attention back to the paperback in her hand.   
"Excuse me?"  
"Catcher in the Rye," Elizabeth said, gesturing towards the title.   
"It's for Mr. Collins' class."  
Conner gave a short laugh. "Good one, Liz."  
"I heard you practicing, you sounded good."  
"What?" he barked. He prayed she hadn't heard too much.  
"Yeah, your window was open. I could hear the guitar but I wasn't close   
enough to hear the actual lyrics."  
"Oh, I was just practicing for-"  
"Tonight?" Elizabeth finished, raising and eyebrow.  
"Yeah, how did you know?" Conner asked, narrowing his eyes.  
"Don't go all Bruce Banner on me," Elizabeth said rolling her eyes. "I   
work at the House of Java. I've known about your performance-"  
"Gig," Conner corrected.  
"_Gig_ for a while," she finished. She flashed him a smile and rolled   
over onto her stomach.  
Conner tried not to stare at her but her white bikini was…adorable.  
"So how long are you planning on staying with us?" Elizabeth asked   
after a stretch of silence.  
Conner growled, "Trying to get rid of me?"  
"No…I mean…uh…won't your parents miss you?"  
Conner loved seeing her flustered but hated it when people pried.   
Conner liked to keep his personal life, well, _personal_. "Not likely," he   
said bitingly. "My dad deserted us years ago and my mother's an   
alcoholic and she's staying with my half sister and her ex-husband in Oregon."  
Elizabeth was quiet for a moment and she turned to look at him. She   
pulled her sunglasses down on her nose and Conner lost himself in her   
eyes. He told her more than he had ever told anyone. Even Tia didn't know   
about his mom's problem and Jessica didn't know any of it.  
Elizabeth looked at him and chose her words carefully. "Wow, I had no   
idea. I-"  
"Don't say you feel sorry for me," Conner said coldly, not wanting her   
pity.  
"I wasn't," Elizabeth said. "I admire you. You're so strong. If all   
that had happened to me…" Elizabeth trailed off.  
Conner was stunned. Elizabeth just kept on surprising him. He felt his   
heart tug and for once he didn't try to shake the feeling away. He just   
wanted to pretend that he wasn't dating Jessica and that Elizabeth was   
his girlfriend. Conner's brain came back to reality and he got up and   
dived into the pool. He cringed as the cold water engulfed him. He swam   
a few laps until he noticed that Elizabeth was climbing in and he swam   
into the shallower water to join her.   
"What did I say, Conner? You seem so angry."  
Conner almost melted. But in a way she was right. He _was_ angry but at   
himself. Conner responded by taking his hands and running them up and   
down her arms. Conner relished the feeling of her soft arms and the way   
the cool water was splashing around their waists. Elizabeth's eyes   
fluttered closed.  
_Do it_ Conner's body screamed. _This is your chance!_  
"Hey guys! Watcha doing?" Jessica voice chirped, bringing Conner back   
to the present. Thankfully Jessica's back was to them so Conner quickly   
swam away from Liz, away from the temptation that was tearing him   
apart.  
This ended now.  
  
_He was going to kiss me. He was going to kiss ME._ That was the   
thought that screamed through Elizabeth's mind as she prepared her millionth   
latte that evening. Apparently Conner was really popular, or as   
Elizabeth suspected, had a girlfriend with a large mouth because the small   
café was packed.   
"Elizabeth, be careful," her co-worker, Jeremy Aames, warned her as he   
grabbed the overflowing cup from her hands.   
"Sorry," Elizabeth said smiling weakly.   
"It's okay," Jeremy said giving her shoulder a squeeze. "I've never   
seen this place so crowded and I've even worked on by one get one free   
cappuccino night."  
"All I can say is if I have to make one more latte I'll scream."  
"Isn't this exciting, Liz?" Jessica called over to Elizabeth. She was   
almost completely draped on Conner. She disentangled herself. "I can't   
believe so many people came!" she gushed. "I guess those flyers Tia and   
I passed out worked. I'll have a latte and Conner will have…what do you   
want sweetie?" she said turning towards him.  
"Water," he said pulling himself away from Jessica's neck where he had   
been nuzzling her.   
Elizabeth fought back the urge to scream.   
She turned to plead with Jeremy to fill the order but Jeremy was   
standing there dumbstruck. So Elizabeth quickly filled it.   
"Jeremy, earth to Jeremy!" Elizabeth teased.   
"That's your sister," He said under his breath.  
"Yeah, Jessica."  
"Wow...she's incredible."  
"The guy she's with is her boyfriend, though."  
Jeremy was silent and went back to placing orders.  
Elizabeth was a bit surprised. Jeremy didn't seem like Jessica's type.   
He did play football but he was quieter. Nicer. But maybe that was what   
Jessica needed.   
The line slowly tapered down and Elizabeth was watching Jessica and   
Conner kissing and poking at each other. She thought Conner had liked   
_her_ but maybe she was just a distraction. She wanted to march right over   
there and ump a pot of hot coffee on them.  
"You need to get over it," a voice said.  
"What?" Elizabeth said startled.   
"Conner," Maria said giving Elizabeth a look of pity.  
"Are you joking? Me and _Conner_?" Elizabeth scoffed.   
"I'm not kidding," Maria said simply. "Him and Jessica seem really   
happy and you need to stay out of it. And he's a total player, he'd just   
hurt you."  
"It's just a crush," Elizabeth assured her, and herself.   
Suddenly Conner climbed on stage and the show began.  
Elizabeth was enthralled. She had no idea that he was so talented. The   
fifty minutes seemed to fly by.   
"For my last song I want to sing an original. It's called 'Stone   
Heart.'"  
"You catch a glimpse of her sun streaked hair…" Conner locked eyes with   
Elizabeth and she couldn't turn away even if she wanted to. His eyes   
were filled with desire and longing and Elizabeth knew this song was   
about her.  
When the last chords were played Elizabeth let go of her breath that   
she hadn't even known that she was holding. She saw Jessica fly to stage   
with her friends amidst thunderous applause. She pulled him down and   
dragged him into the crowd. A few minutes later they appeared at the   
counter.  
"Wasn't he incredible?" Jessica breathed.  
Conner stared at Elizabeth questionably. Elizabeth knew that anything   
she said would be horrible wrong. "Moving…surprisingly moving," she   
choked out.  
"And he wrote you that song, Jessica," Amy squealed. "That is _so_   
romantic!"  
"Come on guys," Jessica said. "Let's go celebrate!"   
They all left and Elizabeth threw herself into wiping off the counter.   
"Just a crush," Maria said raising an eyebrow. 


	5. Victory

"Jess, I would rather stuff my head in the toilet then sit with Melissa   
and her b***h patrol," Conner growled as Jessica pulled him over to the   
table where Melissa, Will, Cherie, Lila and a dozen or so others who   
were football players and cheerleaders were sitting. A loud laugh went up   
and Will and Josh began an intricate high five routine.   
"Correction, I would rather watch an all day Barney marathon."  
"Come on," Jessica said exasperated. "You're my boyfriend so they will   
all love you." She noticed Conner flinch at the word _boyfriend_. But   
he was. Her boyfriend, that is. He kissed like was and he wrote that   
song for her. Jessica smiled at the memory.   
"Hey Jessica," Melissa said smiling as they sat down. "We were all   
talking about Gina's party this weekend after the game."  
"My parents are going to Oregon to see my boring aunt. I'm _so_ glad I   
can use the game as an excuse to stay home," Gina explained.  
"Sounds great!" Jessica chimed in. She grabbed Conner's arm. "We are   
there."  
"Better make it a _victory_ party though," Melissa said slyly. "With   
Will as quarterback we're going to dominate!"  
"No offense to the players," Jessica laughed. "But I don't think   
anyone is going to be able to take their eyes off the cheerleaders."  
"Especially Conner," Lila snickered.  
Conner fumed and jammed a forkful of mashed potatoes into his mouth.  
"Big Mesa is toast," Will declared.   
"They don't stand a chance," Josh agreed. "Especially with that loser   
Aames as captain."  
"I don't know about his football skills but I bet he gets an 'A' for   
_love_ skills," Cherie giggled.  
"Really?" Jessica asked. "I've never met him."  
"Oh, yeah," Lila grinned. "We're talking total hottie. It's such a   
waste of man. You know, he works with _Elizabeth _after all.  
"What?" Conner said all of a sudden. "He works with Liz?"  
"Yeah," Jessica said. "I think she mentioned him. Jeremy. But you know   
Liz," Jessica said waving her hand. "She could be working along side   
Justin Timberlake and she wouldn't even notice."  
"I just can't believe you guys are twin sisters," Lila said shaking her   
head.  
"Yeah, I mean she's so...uncool," Cherie said with disdain in her   
voice.  
"She's cooler than she was last year although that's not saying much,"   
Lila gestured to where Liz was sitting by herself and reading a book.  
"You're so lucky you're parents go out of town," Amy complained,   
changing the subject. "Mine never go anywhere."  
Jessica jumped into the conversation and didn't notice Conner's scowl.  
  
"Sweet Valley is number one!" Jessica said shouting as she looped her   
arm around Conner's shoulder.  
"That was the best game ever!" Melissa said who was wrapped around   
Will.  
"Yeah, that catch at the end was spectacular," Lila said beaming at   
Josh.  
"Yeah, but that was some throw, Simmons," Josh said grinning at Will.   
"All in a days work," Will said kissing Melissa lightly on the lips.  
"Welcome to the party that never ends," Gina shouted as she bounded   
into the hallway.   
"I'm going to grab something to drink," Conner told Jessica.  
A couple of hours later Jessica stumbled into the kitchen. Conner was a   
fantastic dancer and she was glad that he was finally loosening up. She   
grabbed a Sprite and downed it.  
"What a girl," a guy with spiky black hair said laughing.  
"What?" Jessica asked defensively.  
"I've never seen a girl chug before," the guy said coming forward.   
Jessica felt her knees go weak. This guy was probably the best looking guy   
she had ever seen. Next to Conner, of course.  
"Girls don't know that guys find male behavior in girls to be total   
turn on."  
Jessica let out a small burp and grinned at the guy.  
He broke into a smile and Jessica blushed. His brown eyes were full of   
laughter and...kindness.   
"Are you trying to make me go mad?" he said his eyes dancing. "But a   
girl like you probably drives all the guys crazy."  
"Sometimes," Jessica said shrugging.   
"More like all the time, I bet. Let me guess, you're a cheerleader."  
"Right," Jessica said surprised. She shoved her hands into her jean   
pockets and shifted.   
"Then you must be Jessica Wakefield herself."  
"How, how did you know?" Jessica said.  
"I work with your twin sister."  
"You must be Jeremy Aames then. But what are _you_ doing at a SVH   
victory party?"  
"My friend Trent is dating a girl from El Carro," Jeremy explained   
grabbing a bottled water. "This party hasn't been much fun...until now,"   
Jeremy said softly.  
Jessica looked away. "Listen, I have a boyfriend."  
"That guy who played at the House of Java? Yeah, I know," Jeremy said   
looking down.  
"Yeah, Conner. And I really like him."  
"Okay, I get it," Jeremy said smiling softly although his eyes had a   
hint of sadness in them. "But if you were my girl I would never leave   
your side."  
"I went to get a drink," Jessica said defensively. The guy may be hot   
but he was also irritating. "In fact he's probably waiting for me and   
you're distracting me so, good bye." Jessica whirled away and went back   
into the crowd. She scanned it but she didn't see Conner.  
"Hey, Li!" she called out over the pulse pounding music. "Have you seen   
Conner?" Lila shook her head and continued to dance with Josh. Jessica   
would have to ask her about that later.  
Jessica went down to the basement. It was dim and there were lip locked   
couples everywhere. She saw Melissa and Will and to her surprise,   
Gina and Todd Wilkins. _Wait until I tell Liz_ Jessica thought snickering.  
She went back upstairs and outside to the street. There was an empty   
space where the Mustang had been parked.   
"Bummer," Jeremy's voice said behind her.  
Jessica turned around. "Why did you follow me?"  
Jeremy opened his mouth but Jessica cut him off. " Why don't you just   
leave me alone?" she cried out and ran back to the house.  
Conner had better have a good reason for leaving her. No one left   
Jessica Wakefield.  
  
Elizabeth walked into the dark kitchen. It was only 11:30 but her   
parents were both asleep and Jessica and Conner were still out. She had   
tried reading but she was restless. She couldn't concentrate on anything   
except what Jessica and Conner might be doing. And how close she had come   
to kissing him. She had finally given up on her book when she had   
realized that she had read the same page ten times.  
She poured herself a glass of milk and stood in front of the sink   
sipping it slowly. She heard a car pull in and a engine turn off.  
_Great_ she thought. Jessica and Conner were the last people she wanted   
to see.  
The door flew open and Conner stalked in. Elizabeth hoped he would go   
upstairs but no such luck. He came into the kitchen and opened the   
refrigerator. He pulled out a Mountain Dew and he finally noticed her   
standing there. He looked into her eyes then his gaze traveled downwards.   
Elizabeth blushed and pulled won on her nightgown. It was light pink and   
lacy and very short and flimsy and practically see through.  
"Where's Jessica?" she asked.  
"Gina's. The party was lame so I left," he said shrugging.  
Elizabeth felt a small smile play on her lips. It sound if Conner had   
bailed on Jessica.  
"Beats spending Saturday nights watching repeats of _The District_ with   
your parents."  
Conner gave a low laugh that sent chills down her spine. _Kiss me_ she   
pleaded silently. But how could she even think about kissing her   
sister's boyfriend? She had to control herself and wait for this silly crush   
to run its course. But with Conner standing there twirling his keys on   
his finger it was hard not to feel _something_.  
"Well I'm going to head up," Conner said after a moment. But as he was   
twirling his keys, they slipped off his finger and fell on the floor.  
"I'll get it," they both said at the same time. They both crouched down   
on the cool linoleum and their hands reached for the keys at the same   
instant. When their fingers touched Elizabeth felt her entire body heat   
up. Conner's eyes were staring into hers, full of lust. He laced his   
fingers through hers and brought their hands to his mouth. He lightly   
kissed each of her fingers causing Elizabeth to melt. His other hand was   
gently caressing the side of her face. Elizabeth couldn't stand it   
anymore. She pressed her body to his and kissed him.  
Conner responded hungrily.  
Elizabeth reveled in the feel of Conner's lips on hers. And the way   
their bodies fit together so perfectly. Elizabeth ran her fingers through   
his hair. She moaned softly. She could feel the hard muscles of his   
chest through her thin nightgown.  
He pulled away and flashed her a smile. "Love the nightgown, Wakefield.   
But the towel was even better." Then he winked at her and got up and   
Elizabeth could hear him climbing up the stairs.  
Elizabeth sat on the floor breathing heavily. With him gone she felt   
so...alone. She gently touched her lips. They were puffy from where   
Conner had gently sucked on them. Suddenly the door flew open, startling   
Elizabeth. Jessica stomped up the stairs and Elizabeth heard a door slam.   
_What have I done?_ Elizabeth thought. The only thing she knew was that   
this couldn't happen again. She needed to stay away fro Conner.  
Great, now she had to convince her parents why she needed to go to   
boarding school in France.


	6. A Dead Man

Jessica yawned and rubbed her eyes. Her dad was cruel, cruel man. What   
kind of father ran his lawnmower at nine-thirty on a Saturday morning?   
She stumbled out of bed and practically fell into the shower. Twenty   
minutes later she emerged feeling more human.  
She bounded downstairs and saw Conner and Elizabeth talking and   
laughing at the table. Jessica immediately felt jealous. They seemed so   
_relaxed_ with one another. But Jessica quickly shoved the thoughts away.   
There was no way a guy could like Elizabeth over her. It just didn't   
happen.  
"Morning," she said brightly.  
"Hey," Elizabeth said looking away and shoving a piece of toast in her   
mouth.  
Conner remained silent.  
Jessica wanted to chew him out about last night but she decided not to.   
It wasn't _that_ big of a deal since Lila had driven her home.   
"So, did you get home okay?" Conner asked after a while.  
Jessica almost melted. "Yeah, you should have told me that you were   
leaving," she said teasingly and rumpled his hair. She sat on his lap and   
grinned at him.   
Elizabeth cleared her throat, "What do you want for breakfast?"  
"Hmmm," Jessica replied as she kissed Conner. She wrapped her arms   
around his neck. Conner's arms were already wrapped around her waist. She   
deepened the kiss but Conner didn't respond right away.   
Suddenly Jessica felt something cold and sticky drip over her head.   
"Ugh!" she shrieked. She jumped up from Conner who was also wet.  
"Sorry," Elizabeth said not sounding very sorry at all. "I slipped,"   
she held up an empty pitcher of orange juice.   
  
"I don't know what her problem is," Jessica complained to Melissa later   
that afternoon. The two of them were lugging around shopping bags as   
they strolled the mall.   
"Maybe she's jealous," Melissa suggested. "Maybe _she_ likes Conner."  
Jessica laughed. "No way! Conner is so not her type. Elizabeth has no   
patience for that slacker thing." Jessica paused. "And I don't think I   
do either."  
Melissa's eyes widened. "What? You're going to _dump_ Conner?"  
"I didn't say that," Jessica said. "Or maybe I did. It's just…I like   
guys that are more outgoing and more involved in the relationship.   
Conner's great, don't get me wrong. It's just that I want him to treat me   
more like Will treats you."  
Melissa was silent. "Conner's not like Will. He's never had a serious   
relationship before. Actually he's been with you longer than any other   
girl. Maybe you need to make the next move. You know, let him know how   
important he is to you."  
"What do you mean?" Jessica said curiously.  
Melissa gave a wicked grin and gestured.  
Jessica noticed that they had stopped. She glanced over to where   
Melissa was pointing and her heart stopped beating. The store had a white   
entrance way with 'Victoria's Secret' written in gold script.  
Melissa giggled at Jessica's stunned expression. "Come on like you've   
never thought about it!"  
Actually, she had. Conner and her were moving fast and she was finding   
it harder to stop. But she still wasn't sure if she was ready. This was   
a big step.  
"Come on," Melissa said pulling her into the store. Jessica blushed at   
all the racks filled with lacy, filmy lingerie. Melissa was already   
flipping through the racks. "Now do you want smoldering temptress?" she   
giggled holding up a red slip. "Or demure virgin?" she held up a white   
lace gown.   
"Stop!" Jessica said giggling. "You don't actually think I should sleep   
with Conner?"  
"Maybe he's been acting all distant because he's scared. He's never   
been in love, Jess. Maybe after years of pushing girls away he finally   
wants to get close to one and the idea terrifies him."  
Jessica was quiet. Melissa did have a point. It was scary…and exciting   
all at the same time. "My parents are going to visit my brother this   
weekend," Jessica said slyly.  
Half and hour later her and Melissa drug a huge armful of slips, bras   
and panties to the dressing rooms. They quickly discarded the more modest   
pieces. Each new outfit was met with shrieks of laughter. Finally they   
both had agreed on a baby blue slip.  
They dumped their packages into the car and headed for the House of   
Java. When they arrived they practically fell into the vinyl seats. "Boy,"   
Melissa sighed. "I'm beat. Sometimes I think shopping is more tiring   
than cheerleading!"  
Their waiter walked over. "What can I get you ladies?"  
"Jeremy?" Jessica exclaimed.  
"Hey, Jessica!" Jeremy said, his eyes lighting up.   
Jessica groaned inwardly. The guy was _everywhere_!   
"I'll have a cappuccino," Jessica said quickly.  
"Me too," Melissa said, her eyes darting forth between Jeremy and   
Jessica.   
After Jeremy had walked away, Melissa leaned over the table. "I didn't   
know that you and Jeremy knew each other."  
"Yeah, I met him at Gina's," Jessica said waving her hand like it   
wasn't a big deal.  
"He's cute," Melissa ginned. "Cherie's been asking me to set her up   
with a guy."  
Jessica shrugged but she felt ill at the thought.   
"But I don't think he's her type," Melissa went on. "And I think he   
likes you."  
"No way!" Jessica denied. "He's a pain and he likes to see me unhappy."   
She paused. "And he's not that cute," she lied. "Plus, I have Conner,   
remember?"  
Later that afternoon, Melissa dropped Jessica off at her house. Jessica   
unloaded her bags and stumbled under their weight up the front steps.   
She struggled with the door and after it opened she practically fell   
into the house.  
"Hello, dear," her mother called from the kitchen. "Did you have a good   
time?"  
"Yeah," Jessica said dumping her bags and going into the kitchen. Her   
mother was cutting up vegetables for a salad. Jessica grabbed a carrot   
stick and started munching on it.   
"You got some mail," Mrs. Wakefield said handing Jessica a small white   
envelope.   
Jessica tore it open and read it eagerly. It was a very short message:  
  
You are Beautiful.  
  
It wasn't signed and Jessica didn't recognize the handwriting. It   
wasn't Conner's scrawl but maybe he had asked someone to write it for him.   
She gave a little sigh. She loved mysteries!  
  
"Conner, please let me in!" Elizabeth pleaded.   
Conner sighed and flung the door open. The site of Elizabeth almost   
left him speechless. "What is it?" he grumbled.  
Elizabeth stalked into his room. "I just wanted to apologize for this   
morning. It didn't mean- wait, yes I did." Elizabeth put her hands on   
her hips. "How could you do that after last night?"  
"We kissed, big deal," Conner shrugged.  
"It was a big deal," Elizabeth said jabbing a finger into his chest.  
Conner reveled in the small touch. "Listen, what do you want from me?"  
Elizabeth sighed. "Jessica is my sister. I hate doing this to her. If   
she knew what was going on…let's just say it wouldn't be pretty."  
Conner and Elizabeth were locked in a heated gaze. Then Elizabeth said   
so quietly that he could hardly hear her, "I want you to break up with   
her."  
Conner flopped down onto the bed, lying on his back. After a while he   
said, "I can't."  
"Why-"  
"Because she would kick me out," Conner said, interrupting Liz. "I have   
nowhere else to go, Liz. None of my friends have room and I don't have   
enough money for my own place. If Jessica were to kick me out I would   
drop out of school. I wasn't even going to go back this year but Tia   
forced me."  
"But if you ended things with Jessica on good terms than we could-"  
"Could what?" Conner snapped. "Start dating? I've dated enough girls to   
know that you can't do that."  
Elizabeth stood there choking back tears. Conner felt his heart clench   
at the sight of her pain. He grabbed her wrist and pulled her on top of   
him. "Listen," he said softly. "I'll think of something." Then he knew   
he had to say something. Something that would make her trust him and   
know that he wasn't just using her. "I can't _not_ be with you." He touched   
her face with the back of his hand. He thought that he would regret saying   
those words but after they were said he felt…happy. Elizabeth threw her   
arms around him and that was all it took. Conner was a dead man. 


	7. Your Crazy Sister

_Two weeks later_  
  
"I hated Gary," Conner said bitterly. "He didn't like me much either   
because I was a constant reminder to my mom's first marriage and to my   
real dad. I was also in the way. My mom and Gary wanted privacy, not some   
little kid hanging around. It was even worse when Megan was born   
because then I felt like I didn't belong in my mom's new family."  
Elizabeth snuggled up to Conner and he wrapped his arm around her   
shoulder and intertwined their legs. She rested her head on Conner's hard   
chest. Her head moved up and down as Conner breathed. It was quiet except   
for Conner's voice. Her parents were visiting friends and Jessica was   
cheering that night. Elizabeth had never been so happy. Even though   
Conner was still seeing her sister she knew that Conner cared about her. He   
had shown it today by finally opening up to her. She knew they had   
moved too fast but things just seemed _ so_ right between them.  
With Conner lying next to her telling her things that he had never told   
anyone before and his hand running down her smooth bare shoulder, she   
knew she wouldn't want to be anywhere else. Or with any_one_ else. She   
would have thought that Conner would look silly tangled in her flowerily   
sheets in her light wood sleigh bed. But amid all the girliness he   
looked even more masculine.  
"Gary showered Megan with attention all but forgetting about me. But   
when I turned thirteen things got worse. For my birthday my mom gave me   
my dad's old guitar. It was the best present I'd ever gotten and I   
begged my mom for lessons. But Gary refused to pay for them because they   
were sending Megan to some fancy sports camp and that guitar lessons   
weren't possible financially. So I worked all summer mowing lawns and when I   
finally got enough money to pay for several months worth of lessons, I   
tried to give the money to my mother. But Gary intercepted it and made me   
open a savings account to save for college. Or course I was furious because   
the last thing on a thirteen-year-old's mind is college.  
"When Gary left my mom she was devastated. She cried and she blamed me   
for his disappearance. 'If only you had been nicer to him and treated   
him with respect, he wouldn't have left. All he wanted was for you to   
accept him as a father figure.' Then she started drinking."  
"Oh, Conner," Elizabeth said softly.  
"I've closed myself up," he said hoarsely. "First my dad left and then   
my mom emotionally left. I've never let myself get that close to anyone   
again besides Megan. And now she's left too." Then he buried his face   
in her hair. "Except you." He groaned. "You do things to me Elizabeth   
Wakefield."  
Elizabeth ran a finger across his chest where his heart was and traced   
a heart around the area. "Give me your heart, Conner, and I'll keep it   
always," she whispered. They laid there together silently for a moment.  
"So why aren't you at the game with everyone else?" Conner asked her.  
Elizabeth propped herself up on one elbow, her head balanced on her   
hand. "I don't know," she said honestly. "Things have changed so much since   
last year. We all used to hang out in one big group. All of us, Todd,   
Ken, Lila, Amy, Enid…but everything's changed. I haven't talked to Enid   
in forever, Todd and I aren't on speaking terms and Maria's been busy   
with school. It's like everyone is moving on and I'm stuck in neutral."   
"Yeah," Conner agreed. "Tia has cheerleading and Evan and Andy are also   
branching out. But I've never been good at making new friends."  
" So why aren't you at the game?" Elizabeth asked quietly.   
"It's almost an hour away. Plus I wanted to be with you. I hate   
football games."  
Elizabeth smiled. "What about Jessica?"  
"What about her? Whenever I'm with her I wish I were with you. Our   
relationship is like totally dead. I think even she knows it."  
"And maybe you could end things on good terms," Elizabeth said   
hopefully.   
"Not usually my style," Conner said brushing his lips against hers.   
"But for you-" He kissed her harder and lost himself in her sweet lips. He   
had never let himself get this intimate with a girl but he knew that   
with Elizabeth it was different. He rolled over on top of her and allowed   
himself to pretend that everything was okay and that Elizabeth didn't   
have a twin sister.  
  
_One Week Later  
_  
Jessica fluffed up her hair with her fingers. She had chickened out   
with Conner a few weeks ago but tonight she was ready. And terrified. She   
wasn't sure if this was the best idea. She and Conner had hardly seen   
each other these past weeks and she was always so busy with cheerleading   
and Lila and Melissa….  
And then there was the whole mystery note thing. Jessica reached under   
her pillow and pulled out a small stack of identical white envelopes.   
She had gotten several more of the anonymous messages. She reread the   
one that had come that afternoon.  
  
There's no other girl as special as you.  
  
Jessica smiled. Even though she wasn't interested in another guy, the   
notes still intrigued her. It was so romantic and it was pretty obvious   
that the guy was crazy about her and not afraid to tell her, unlike   
Conner who rarely complimented her or noticed her appearance. But tonight   
she would make _sure_ he noticed. She slipped on her robe over her   
slip. She felt weird just parading into his room wearing the skimpy slip   
that stopped mid-thigh and that had a plunging neckline so low that it   
rivaled any other piece of clothing she had.   
She gathered up all her courage and marched down to Conner's room. She   
tapped lightly on his door.  
"Come in!" he called.  
_How romantic_ she thought sarcastically. _He doesn't even open the door_!  
She opened it and shut it quietly behind her. "Hey," she murmured,   
adding a deeper tone to her voice to make it sound sexier.  
"Hey," Conner said getting up from his bed. "Are you okay? You sound a   
little hoarse."  
"I'm fine. Actually, I'm going to be more than fine very soon."  
"Really?" Conner said distractedly. "Why? Are you going to Lila's or   
something?"  
"No, silly! I'm with you!" she giggled. She walked over to him and   
placed her hands on his shoulders. "Things have been different lately."  
"Yeah, I agree, they have."  
"And I think I can make it all better," she purred.   
"Good," he said relieved. "How?" he said his eyes darting around the   
room.  
"Like this." She very slowly shrugged her robe off revealing her slip.  
Conner's eyes widened. "Jess," he choked out. "What are you _doing_?"  
"I want you Conner," she choked out.  
Conner took in her luscious body and then he quickly pushed her away   
and ran his hands through his hair. "Are you _crazy_!" he shouted,   
Jessica felt tears start to form. "Don't you want me? I thought you   
were in love with me! We've been seeing each other for over a month!"  
"But things haven't been okay. We've grown apart, Jess. We don't have   
anything in common," Conner argued.   
"But I love you!" Jessica cried.  
Conner looked away. Then he ran out of the room and slammed the door.   
Jessica sobbed and sunk onto the bed. Now what? How could Conner be so   
cruel and reject her like that? True, things had been different but they   
were meant to be together.   
Actually, Jessica admitted, things had not been okay with them. But the   
horrible thing was that Conner thought so too and had been _planning_   
on dumping her. And that hurt almost more than the rejection itself.   
Well, Conner had had his chance. There were other guys; cuter, more   
attentive guys out there. After all, Conner McDermott, wasn't _that_ great.  
  
Elizabeth glanced up from her computer, startled. Conner stormed into   
the room. Elizabeth got up and closed the door quietly. She walked over   
to where Conner was fuming.  
"You want to know what your crazy sister tried to do?" Conner spat out.  
Elizabeth pulled down on the large shirt she was wearing for bed. She   
glanced at the clock. It was after ten.   
"She came into my room talking about how weird things had been. I   
thought we were on the same wavelength but then she shed her robe and was   
wearing some slip thing."  
"She wanted to…" Elizabeth couldn't even say it as tears formed in her   
eyes.  
"Listen," Conner said gently. "I never wanted to. She does nothing for   
me. Not like you." Conner sat down on her bed, frustrated.  
"So what did you do?" she whispered.  
"I ran," Conner admitted. "I was freaked."  
"Oh, Conner," Elizabeth said sitting down next to him." This makes   
everything worse! Clearly, Jessica still has feelings for you and now she's   
probably devastated." She placed a hand on his thigh. "You need to work   
things out with her, Conner." Elizabeth sighed. "Maybe I should back   
off for a while."  
"No," Conner said quickly. "I-we can't."  
They were both silent. "Night, Liz." Conner leaned in and kissed her.   
Elizabeth responded hungrily and they both lost themselves in the kiss.   
Elizabeth's door flew open and Jessica barged in sobbing. "Liz, you   
have to help me." She stopped when she saw Conner and Elizabeth who had   
been too started to move. "Oh my God," Jessica choked out. "Get off MY   
BOYFRIEND!" she shrieked and fled in tears. 


	8. All Over

Jessica leaned against the wall. She was in some other dimension. That   
had to be the only logical explanation for what was going on. She was   
_not_ in the hallway because if she was then everything was true. Conner   
was cheating on her with Elizabeth. That's why he hadn't wanted her and   
why he had been acting all weird lately. So Tia and everyone had been   
right. Conner was a cheating bastard. She started to sob and her back   
slowly slid down the wall until she was sitting against the wall with her   
knees bent up. This could not be happening. Her and Conner had   
connected and they were the 'it couple' of Sweet Valley High. Conner was   
supposed to be her boyfriend, her homecoming date…heck even her prom date.   
But that was over. Of all the people Conner had to cheat with he had   
picked the worst one.  
Her sister.  
Her _twin_ sister.  
She would be the laughingstock of the school. Conner had cheated on the   
beautiful popular Jessica Wakefield with her dorkier sister.  
Suddenly the door to Elizabeth's room flew open. Jessica looked up and   
through her tears she saw Conner standing there. She had never been   
able to read him before and she couldn't read him now. He didn't seem   
angry or disappointed or upset. He opened his mouth to say something and   
then he closed it. "I guess there's nothing left to say," he said jamming   
his hands into his pockets.  
"How can you say that?" Jessica said through her choked sobs. "We're in   
love Conner and then you messed it up by getting your kicks from my   
sister."  
Conner sat down next to her on the floor. "Listen, Jessica. I know I   
don't have the best record when it comes to girls. Usually I dump them or   
cheat on them…or whatever. But you're different, you're one of the   
first girls I ever dated that I actually liked. You're a great girl Jessica   
but isn't it obvious we aren't right for each other? Have we even made   
each other happy?"  
Jessica stared at him. How could he say this? That their whole   
relationship was a joke? "So what was Liz? A way out of this?"  
Conner was quiet. "No. Liz is…"  
Jessica eyes widened then quickly filled with disgust. "You…_like_ my   
sister?"  
Conner didn't say anything. He didn't have to. Jessica knew it. Conner   
wasn't cheating on her because he was tired with her. He was in love   
with her sister.  
Jessica let out a harsh laugh. "This is…this unbelievable. Here I   
thought that you were in love with me, that you cared about me."  
"Listen," Conner snapped. "I didn't choose to fall for her. I didn't   
want to…I avoided her but it was just too much. I knew we could never be   
together because you guys are sisters…"  
"So you guys went behind my back? Like that would make it better? Were   
you guys just going to keep on going behind my back? Stupid Jessica   
will never find out?"  
"We were going to tell you…Liz wanted to but I was worried that you   
would kick me out."  
"So you stayed with me because you wanted a room?" Jessica burst out.   
"You are the most arrogant jerk I have ever met!" She stood up. For the   
first time that night she had strength. Conner was a fool to throw away   
the best thing that ever happened to him. She loved him and if he   
didn't see that than that was his loss. She could have any guy she wanted.   
She didn't _need_ him. "I want you out," she hissed. "You can stay   
tonight but tomorrow I want you gone. I want you to stay away from me and my   
friends."  
Conner stood up as if to protest but he shrugged and spun around   
towards his room.  
"And If I ever see you near my sister again, I'll personally make sure   
you never date another girl in the state of California again."   
Jessica smirked as Conner slammed the door to his room. Then she tossed   
her hair back and marched into her sister's room. Elizabeth was sitting   
on her bed crying softly. Jessica marched right up to her sister and   
slapped her hard across the face. Elizabeth let loose a strangled cry and   
placed her hand on her cheek.  
"How could you? I thought you were my best friend. You knew how much I   
cared for him yet you let me make a fool out of myself." Jessica shook   
her head. "You've changed Liz…but not for the better. I would never do   
something like that to you. I thought you were better than that."   
Jessica glared at her sister and then marched out of the room.   
  
"It's black with these really thin straps and it plunges really low in   
the back," Melissa said grinning.  
"It sounds awesome," Tia breathed as she picked up her sandwich. "I   
haven't gotten my dress yet."  
"We still have three weeks but the really good dresses are always gone   
right away."  
"Yeah," Tia agreed. "Do you have your dress yet, Jess?"  
"I'm not going," she muttered. It was the day after she had dumped   
Conner.  
"I know Conner hated dances," Tia said smiling. "But you're a shoo-in   
for homecoming queen. You _have_ to go."  
"Conner didn't ask me," Jessica said trying to hold back tears.   
"He will," Melissa said confidently. "Guys are so clueless sometimes."  
"He's not going to ask me because we broke up," Jessica said taking a   
large bit on a carrot stick causing a loud CRUNCH for effect.  
Tia and Melissa were speechless.  
"How?"  
"Why?"  
"I caught him and Elizabeth on her bed making out."  
"What?" Tia hissed.   
"Were they…"  
"Probably," Jessica said shrugging her shoulders. "Her hand was on his   
thigh and he was pushing her down onto the pillows. And you could tell   
he _really_ wanted her. They've probably been at it for weeks." Jessica   
didn't know this was true but she hated Elizabeth and Conner so much   
right now. And it was probably true. How else could Elizabeth had gotten   
Conner to fall for her?  
"That slut," Melissa said coldly.  
Tia shifted uncomfortably. "I know Conner is my best friend and that   
he's hurt lots of girls over the years…but this is the worst. You're a   
great girl Jessica and Conner's an idiot for doing this to you."  
"What?" Cherie said joining them.  
"Conner's sleeping with Elizabeth," Melissa said bitingly.  
Jessica opened her mouth to tell Melissa that wasn't entirely true. But   
then she stopped. Conner and Elizabeth had embarrassed her, didn't they   
deserve to be embarrassed?  
Cherie's eyes widened. "You kicked Conner out, right Jess?" Cherie said   
sitting down.  
Jessica nodded. "I also told him to stay away from Elizabeth. If I had   
to see them kissing and-" she broke off.   
"It's okay," Melissa said wrapping her arms around Jessica. "You did   
the right thing."  
"Liz is a jerk," Lila announced. She had been standing behind Jessica   
and was holding Josh's hand.  
"Yeah, you're like the hottest girl in the school, next to Lila, if   
Conner doesn't think you're special than that's his loss," Josh said.  
Jessica grinned at all her friends. She was so lucky. Pretty soon   
Conner would mean nothing to her and she could get to work finding someone   
who did.  
  
SLAM  
There it was again, the sound of boxes hitting the floor. Elizabeth   
glanced up from the computer. This had to be the worst day of her life.   
Jessica refused to speak to her and spent the whole breakfast talking to   
her parents. She'd also driven off in the jeep forcing Elizabeth to   
ride the bus. Plus Conner had been avoiding her as well. That was probably   
for the best though. If she expected to straighten things out with   
Jessica then she needed to stay away from Conner.   
SLAM  
This was getting ridiculous. She got from her chair and peeked out into   
the hallway. She saw Conner's figure disappeared down the stairs. She   
crept down the stairs but Conner was moving fast and was already coming   
back up the stairs. She flattened herself up against the wall and   
narrowly missed being knocked over. Conner went into his room and a minute   
later reappeared with a backpack. Conner was moving out. She had guessed   
that Jessica had kicked him out but she was hoping that she guessed   
wrong. She needed Conner with her or else she could never live in this   
house.   
She placed her hand lightly on his shoulder. "Conner," she said softly.   
"Please…"  
"I have to," he muttered, not meeting her eye.  
She started to cry. "You can't leave me…I need you," she sank onto the   
stairs.  
Conner started to leave and she grabbed onto the bottom of his shirt.   
"Conner I…I love you," she cried.   
Conner stopped and turned around. He looked at her with an unreadable   
expression. Then he turned and thundered down the stairs and a moment   
later Elizabeth could hear the Mustang roar to life.  
She collapsed into violent sobs. This was it. It was all over.


	9. Paranoid

Elizabeth straightened her top. She could do this, really she could.   
Never mind that yesterday Conner had moved out. And Jessica   
had probably told all her friends what an evil sister she had. She   
knew people like Lila and Amy and Melissa would probably give   
her dirty looks for a while, nothing she couldn't handle. Besides,   
she didn't really care what Jessica friends thought about her. All   
she cared about was getting Jessica to talk to her, and Conner to…  
Kiss her? Hold her? Elizabeth felt tears start to form in her eyes.   
"Stop," she commanded herself. "I will not cry again." She slowly   
climbed from the jeep. Lila had driven Jessica this morning so they   
didn't have to ride in cold silence together.  
She needed to find Maria. After school, then they would get   
together and she would cry it all out with her best friend. But would   
that even help? Maria didn't even know that her and Conner had   
gotten together. Plus, when Maria had found out that she had a   
crush on Conner, Maria had acted all disapproving. Maybe Maria   
wouldn't understand. Conner was the only person who understood   
and he was the one person she couldn't go to. She missed him so   
much…she _craved_ him. Who was she kidding? There was no way   
she was going to make it through the day without breaking down.  
She pulled open the doors to Sweet Valley High and threw herself   
in the large mass of students pushing their way to their lockers and   
homerooms. Elizabeth weaved her way through the crowd. She   
noticed a few girls who giggled and pointed in her direction. Elizabeth   
quickly scanned her outfit. Nothing was loose, on backward, or exposed.   
She shrugged…not everything was about her. Another girl hissed   
something that sounded like 'slug' in her direction. She also noticed   
that a lot of people were staring at her. _Stop being paranoid!_ She   
commanded herself. _Just because you know what kind of scum you are   
doesn't mean that the rest of the school does too!  
_She slowed down when she got to her locker. She fumbled with her   
combination and then opened up her locker. She noticed that there   
was a piece of paper stuck in the vent and she pulled it out. Maybe it   
was from Conner, wanting to get back together. She quickly shook that   
idea away. Conner didn't do stuff like that. She unfolded it and turned   
white when she saw what it said. It was written in a girlish handwriting   
and it bold black letters it said:

****

Elizabeth Wakefield is a slut.

This day had been the worst day of Conner's life. And he had had   
some pretty bad ones. Tia had avoided him all day, which meant   
Jessica had told her what an incredible jerk he was. People had been   
giving him weird looks all day and he could have sworn people had   
been avoiding him. Or it could have been that he had just been avoiding   
people. The last bell had just rung which meant the day would be looking   
up. He was staying at Andy's again, back on the floor right where he   
started. The other good thing was that he hadn't seen Elizabeth all day.   
That would have pushed him over the edge. Yesterday when he had   
left her sobbing on the stairs, it had almost killed him, seeing her   
vulnerable like that. But Elizabeth deserved better. He had to keep telling   
himself that or else he would go crawling back to her and beg her to take   
him back. He hated to admit it, but he missed Elizabeth like crazy. After   
having her like that and then not being able to anymore was like having   
your stomach ripped out.  
He saw the exit and right when he thought he was going to make it, he   
saw Elizabeth standing outside. She looked awful. Her face was all   
red and splotchy like she had been crying. Conner's heart contracted.   
He hated to think that he was the one causing her pain. If he could just   
reach out and…and what? Make a fool of himself? Destroy Elizabeth's   
relationship with her sister? What made him think that he and Elizabeth   
would work anyway? She was just another girl. He could find another like   
her in a second. He had to move on. He was never going to be with   
Elizabeth again. He spotted a girl standing by the doors. She looked   
cute. She had short brown hair and was small and cute as a button.   
She looked like she would be a lot of fun. He didn't really feel anything   
towards her but feelings could develop later, right? She walked up to   
her and gave her his trademark lazy smile.  
"Hey."  
The girl glanced up at him wary. She shifted uncomfortably and Conner   
smirked. No girl could resist him. He'd make out with her tonight and   
forget all about Elizabeth Wakefield. Sweet Valley High was full of hot   
eligible girls looking for a good time.  
"Uh…hey," she said.  
"I saw you just now and I said to myself that you were a girl looking   
for a good time, uh…"  
"Penny," she said pulling down on her tank top. Conner smiled at her bare   
stomach and barely there shirt. But it didn't turn him on like it usually did.   
_Give it time_ his body ordered. Penny was super sexy and her body   
was even better than Elizabeth's. But why was it Elizabeth's body that   
kept popping into his mind?  
"Penny, how would you be interested in you know, hanging out?"  
She gave him a weird look and suddenly a slow smile played on her lips.   
"Conner," she purred into his ear. "I wouldn't go out with you if you were   
the last guy on earth."  
"Wh-What?" Conner said shocked.  
"I'm not like Elizabeth…I won't cheat on another girl's guy. What you did   
was disgusting." And she whirled around and stormed away.

"Hello?" Jessica said into the phone.  
"Jessica?" a familiar voice said.  
"Yeah, who is this?"  
"Jeremy. Jeremy Aames."  
Jessica paled. What did he want with her? He was probably calling to mock   
her on her lame choice in men. "Uh, hey Jeremy."  
"Listen, I know we don't really know each other but I really need your help.   
See, I'm on the student government and there's a really important meeting   
tonight and my parents are going out and my friends are all busy so I was   
wondering if you would like to baby-sit my two younger sisters."  
Jessica was speechless. He wanted her to _baby-sit_? "Uh, you're   
joking, right?"  
"No, listen, I only called because I'm really desperate."  
Jessica was silent. "Okay," she agreed. "But only because of   
your sisters."  
"Thanks, you're a lifesaver Jess."  
Sometimes too much for my own good, she thought.

Jessica flung herself onto the huge leather couch in the Aames's living   
room. Trisha and Emma were such sweethearts that it almost didn't feel   
like work. But she had a pile of homework back at home and Jeremy   
still wasn't back yet. She noticed a pile of books and notebooks on the   
table and saw that they were Jeremy's schoolbooks. She also noticed   
that he had the same history book that her class was using. She picked   
it up and opened it to the section she was supposed to read tonight.   
Might was well get her work started. A piece of paper was jammed in   
where she started to read and she noticed it was rough draft of a paper.   
She glanced at it.

The turning point of World War II was when Hitler attempted to take   
control of his own troops on the march to Leningrad….

Jessica's face paled. That handwriting was the same handwriting that   
was on her love letters. Which meant…_Jeremy_ was her secret admirer!  
She didn't know what to do or feel. She slammed the book shut and   
looked up to see Jeremy standing above her.  
"I'm…I'm really. Who do you think you are?" she demanded.  
"So you know," Jeremy said running his hands through his hair.  
"Yeah," she said. She tried to notice how cute he was. "Why?"  
"Because I like you," Jeremy said shrugging his shoulders. "I think you   
are the prettiest, feistiest, most interesting girl I had ever met. But   
you were dating that jerk…"  
"Actually he was a jerk, we broke up."  
Jeremy's face brightened. "Because of my letters?"  
"No, because he was cheating on me with Elizabeth. Your letters   
were sweet, though."  
"You still have feelings for him," Jeremy said disappointed.  
Jessica didn't say anything.  
"Listen, I want us to go on a date. I think we'd be really good together.   
But we're going to take it slow…I don't want to be the rebound."  
"What makes you think I'd want to go on a date with you anyway?"   
Jessica said.  
Jeremy captured her lips in a sweet kiss and Jessica was surprised at how   
good it felt.  
He pulled back and smiled at her stunned expression. "That's why."


	10. Double Standards

Conner slammed his locker shut. He stalked towards the cafeteria.   
These past two weeks had been total crap. Tia wasn't talking to him; he   
was sleeping on Andy's floor where Andy's dog liked to slobber in his face.   
Plus, no one except Andy and Evan would even look at him. Not that he   
really cared; he had never been much of a socializer. What really hurt   
was that Elizabeth didn't have _anyone_. Every time he saw her, she was alone.   
Plus, everyone had been treating her even worse than they had been   
treating him. It was that stupid double standard. Never mind that he had   
been just as guilty as Elizabeth, actually, even _more _so. But since   
Elizabeth was a girl, they had labeled her a slut. He hated to admit it, but   
he still wanted her. But Jessica's threat scared him. Not because of what   
Jessica would do to him, but what she might do to Elizabeth.   
Conner could not get one girl in the whole school to go out with him; Jessica   
had taken care of that. But after asking that one girl out, he realized he didn't _  
want_ another girlfriend. Somehow, without even realizing it, he had fallen   
in love with Elizabeth Wakefield. He missed her body and her kisses, but   
what he missed most was talking to her, just being near her. The way she   
smiled before each sentence. The way she ate Reese Cups by biting around   
the edge before eating the peanut butter center. He just missed _her_. He   
entered the cafeteria and sat down next to Andy. "Hey, what's going-" he   
stopped when he saw that sitting across from Andy was Tia.  
Tia shifted uncomfortably and glanced over at Andy apologetically.   
"Listen, I have to go…I'll call you later."  
"No," Conner pleaded.  
Tia glanced him, surprised, probably because Conner _never_ pleaded.  
"I hate this," He said frustrated. "You're my best friend and I…I need you   
Tia. We've never let anything come between us before."  
"I-" Tia said holding back tears.  
"Come on, Tee. Talk to me. Forget about Jess."  
Tia glared at him angrily. "You almost had me. Jessica is my friend and   
I don't like what you did to her," Tia said not looking at him. "You've   
always been an idiot when it came to girls and this time you just got in   
over your head. And for what? A quick lay on the side?"  
"Elizabeth is…she's different," Conner struggled to explain. "I was just   
having fun with Jessica. But I never meant to hurt her."  
"That's just it Conner. You never mean to, but sometimes you just do. Was   
it worth it Conner?" Tia got up to leave.  
"Dammit Tee, yes it was, okay? Jessica doesn't mean anything to me. I'm   
in love with Elizabeth Wakefield."  
A look of shock appeared on Tia's face. But before she could open her   
mouth, a loud burst of laughter came from the other side of the cafeteria.   
Conner's gaze flew over to where Elizabeth was standing. Someone had   
tripped her and she had dropped her lunch all over the floor. And she was   
crying. Conner's heart clenched and he felt a surge of anger go through his   
body. Would they _ever_ let up?  
"You make a mess of everything, don't you Elizabeth?" Cherie shrill voice   
mocked. "The cafeteria….your sister's life."  
"How could you be so naïve," Lila said calmly. "Conner never wanted you.   
He just used you to fu-"  
"Shut up." Conner could hardly believe that he had said it. For the last two   
weeks he had just ignored what everyone had said hoping they would lose   
interest and move onto the next thing. But this was the last straw. They were   
determined to break Elizabeth Wakefield and hell would freeze over before   
he let them do that. He stalked over to where Jessica and her cronies stood.  
"I don't believe anyone asked you," Gina said coolly.  
"When you say those things to her, you say them to me as well. Elizabeth didn't   
force herself on me, I went willingly."  
Jessica paled but Conner didn't feel sorry for her. If she had just kept her   
mouth shut all this wouldn't be happening.  
"Yeah, to her bed," Cherie sneered. "While you were still with Jessica."  
"I wasn't in love with Jessica. Things hadn't been right between us for a while.   
I was planning on breaking up with her."  
"Oh, that makes everything okay," Amy said in a sarcastic voice.  
"How could you?" Jessica said so softly that Conner almost didn't hear it.   
"With my sister? My best friend?"  
Conner looked over at Elizabeth. She looked away. That small gesture nearly   
broke his heart. This ended now. He didn't want people thinking about Elizabeth   
that way. He knew that all Jessica's friends didn't know the truth. They were  
just spreading rumors unaware of how true they were. But they didn't need to   
know that. What he and Elizabeth had shared had been special, there   
was no denying that. But he needed to deny it so that Elizabeth and Jessica   
could move on in their lives. Even if it meant never getting to be with Elizabeth   
again. He wasn't sure what hurt more, never having had Elizabeth or having to   
live with the memories of Elizabeth's soft body against his, all her soft curves   
against his hard muscles and knowing he would never feel it again.  
"I never slept with Elizabeth."  
Elizabeth's eyes widened as if she couldn't believe what he had just said.  
"I want you to leave her alone, if you have to do this to anybody then do it to me."   
He didn't stay to check their reactions; he just turned around and left. 

"I'm sorry we couldn't get together sooner," Jeremy said smiling at Jessica.   
"It's just with your football games and my football games there's been no-"  
"No free time," Jessica chimed in. "It's been awful because I've been looking   
foreword to being with you."  
"I thought you didn't like me," Jeremy said grinning at her.  
Jessica blushed and jammed a forkful of salad into her mouth. "I didn't, you   
kind of annoyed me."  
"So what changed?" he said softly.  
"I did, I realized you annoyed me because I felt something for you and I   
thought I felt the same thing for Conner."  
"And did you?"  
"He hurt me," Jessica said slowly. "But it doesn't bother me as much as I   
thought it would. I think I built our relationship up into something that it wasn't   
and I drove him away."  
"Yeah, I'm sorry about what happened. That was a pretty harsh way to dump you."  
Jessica looked at him in surprise. "How did you know?"  
"Elizabeth told me, she's kind of a wreck," Jeremy said. "She's really sorry you   
know," he said gazing at her.  
Jessica looked away and didn't say anything.  
They ate in silence for a minute and Jeremy said. "I just wish those people who   
are picking on her would stop. Elizabeth doesn't deserve to be treated like that   
and those jerks should mind their own business."  
Jessica swallowed hard and felt a pang in her stomach. Jeremy didn't know   
that she was the reason that people were treating Elizabeth like that. If she   
hadn't told Melissa and Tia…she wasn't even a hundred percent true that   
the rumors were even true. Conner had denied it today but neither Conner nor   
Elizabeth had denied it before. And plus, didn't Conner and Elizabeth   
deserve this after what they did to her? Obviously Jeremy didn't think so   
and that made Jessica feel ashamed. If he knew the truth would he want   
to be with her?  
"But what if the rumors are true?' Jessica said quietly.  
"So what if they are?" Jeremy said spearing a piece of steak with his fork.   
"It's no body's business but their own. Plus, I don't even believe that it's true."  
"I'm pretty sure it is," Jessica looked over at Jeremy. "When I caught…saw   
them together, I could see it in their eyes. Something different was there   
and I can't explain it. Elizabeth is my twin sister and we have like this   
connection…and I could tell that something was different with her."   
Jessica felt her eyes tear up.  
"You're hurt that she's moved on without you and didn't tell you?" Jeremy   
said, taking her hand.  
"I mean, I know why she didn't tell me," Jessica said with a harsh laugh.   
"But we tell each other everything and I just thought that something that   
important would be one of the things we would share."  
"But what they share in the bedroom is between Conner and Elizabeth.   
It's something private."  
"I know, it just, you know," Jessica said.  
Jeremy squeezed her hand. "I know." He smiled at her and Jessica   
found herself smiling back. 

Elizabeth clutched the bag tightly to her chest. She wanted to get away from   
the store, away from Sweet Valley. Her life was a complete and utter mess.   
She had thought there was hope last week after Conner's declaration in the   
cafeteria. But then he had turned and left without even looking. Maybe   
Conner had said that only because he was so disgusted with himself that he   
wanted to pretend that it never had happened. But it had happened.   
Elizabeth had never felt so alone. Jessica was still not speaking to her   
and Enid and Maria were being distant. The only person who had said   
anything to her that wasn't mean was Jeremy at the House of Java.  
Elizabeth walked across the street to the park. It was empty and Elizabeth   
relished the quietness and the beauty of the flowers. She wished she had   
brought her journal so she could lose herself in her writing. She was in such a   
daze that she didn't notice where she was going and crashed into a hard   
body.  
Elizabeth blushed and looked up. It was a guy about her age and he   
looked dangerous. He wasn't handsome like Conner. He wasn't even that   
good looking. But he reeked maleness and Elizabeth couldn't take her   
eyes of his face. Yet she wasn't attracted to him. This was the kind of   
guy that a girl would jump on but she was left cold. "I'm sorry, I wasn't   
looking where I was going…"  
"It's okay…I'm glad I ran into you. I'm not from around here and I stopped   
here to spend the night until I move on. Know any good places?"  
"There's a Holiday Inn around the corner," Elizabeth said. But curiosity got   
best of her. "Where are you from?"  
"Everywhere," he said and Elizabeth's eyes widened.  
He laughed. "I'm from Vermont. I was supposed to start college this year   
but I wasn't ready to stand up and say what I wanted to do for the rest of my   
life. So I'm taking the year off to see the country and get to know myself better."  
"Wow," Elizabeth said, impressed. "I don't think I could do that. What do your   
parents say?"  
"My mom is dead and my dad doesn't care about anything except his work.   
He gave me $10,000 and told me to have a nice time. I've traveled all   
along the north and I'm heading out to Los Angeles tomorrow then head   
southwest towards Arizona."  
"Wow, I'm sorry," Elizabeth said again. "I wish I could just take off.   
My life kind of is a mess and I just need to get away."  
He looked at her with intensity in his dark eyes. "Why don't you? Come with   
me. As much as I've liked the alone time it's been a little lonely." He looked her   
over. "I think we could have a good time. It would just be for a couple   
of months…we could see the country and get away from everything."  
Elizabeth looked at him with longing. It was like a miracle that this guy   
showed up offering her exactly what she needed. "I don't know…I'm still   
in high school and my family…"  
"Listen, I'll be here until about noon tomorrow. If you change your mind   
I'll be at the Holiday Inn."  
He turned to walk away but Elizabeth called out "What's your name?"  
He turned around and said "Gabe." He smiled. "Bye, Elizabeth."  
"How did-"  
He took his finger and bent it around her Elizabeth necklace. He gave it a   
soft tug and then walked away. 

Thanks to everyone who has reviewed! You guys are the best :) 


	11. Sleeping Beauty

"This is the life," Jessica moaned as the masseuse rubbed out the tension  
in Jessica's back. This was one of the benefits of having a wealthy friend.  
Her, Lila, Melissa, and Tia were all lying on metal beds having first rate  
massages. Then they were going to have facials and manicures and then  
their hair done. Then they would all get dressed and their boyfriends  
would pick them up here and a limo would whisk them off to the homecoming  
dance. Jessica shivered as she pictured Jeremy in a tux.  
"You are so lucky, Li," Melissa said lazily.  
"I know," Lila said matter of factly and Jessica laughed.  
"At least she's so giving," Tia said.  
Jessica snorted. And Lila looked up at Jessica. "I'm just kidding," Jessica said.  
"We all know you can be generous."  
"I just want the four of us to be the most devastating girls at the dance  
tonight. I mean, it's our last homecoming dance."  
"I know," Jessica said sadly.  
"But we have four years of frat parties," Melissa said mischievously.  
"That's true," Jessica grinned. "I forgot about that."  
"But we need to make this night unforgettable," Lila said wistfully. "I just  
wish I weren't going with someone _so_ forgettable."  
"What's wrong with Josh?" Melissa asked defensively. "He's Will's  
best friend!"  
"There's nothing wrong with him," Lila said waving a hand. "He's just so_  
generic_. I wish I was going with someone special to me. Like Will is  
to you or Angel is to you," she gestured at Tia.  
"What about Jeremy?" Jessica said, offended.  
Lila glanced over at Jessica's hurt expression. "He's really important  
to you, isn't he?"  
"No," Jessica said with a nervous laugh.  
"He is," Lila said smirking.  
Jessica was quiet. "I've only known him for a couple of weeks, but we  
have so much fun together and when I'm not with him, I really want to be.  
And I could talk to him for hours on the phone…"  
Melissa and Lila giggled. But Tia looked thoughtful. "What about Conner?"  
she said after a while. "I thought you really liked him."  
"I did like Conner," Jessica said shrugging. "But in a way, I think he was  
right. We weren't meant to be together. We're way too different I think I  
just wanted a boyfriend so badly that I kind of made something out of  
nothing."  
"Plus, there's no sense in moping," Lila put in.  
"So, if you and Conner weren't right for each other, then why did you  
forbid Conner and Elizabeth from getting together?"  
"Duh, Tee!" Melissa said impatiently. "When she found out about them,  
she still wanted Conner."  
"Yeah," Lila said shaking her head. "Liz and Conner were seeing each other  
behind Jessica's back. That's just wrong."  
" Elizabeth is my twin and she betrayed me," Jessica said coldly. "They  
have no right to be together."  
"Maybe," Tia said quietly. 

Gabe leaned against his red Monte Carlo . He had just checked out fifteen  
minutes ago and if he wanted to get into LA in time to find a motel then he  
better get his butt going. But something, rather, _someone_ was causing him  
to stay. Elizabeth 's blond face popped back into his mind. It wasn't because  
she was the prettiest girl that he had ever seen before (although she was); it  
was the pained look on her face. Her eyes showed sadness and a great hurt  
and a sense of not belonging. It was something Gabe himself was familiar  
with. His mother had died when he was twelve and when he needed his  
father the most, his father had retreated into his software company and had  
never come back. Gabe had always had everything he had ever wanted. He  
had gone to the best schools and had the best car. But he had never had a  
deep personal relationship with anyone since his mom's death. The guys at  
school only hung around him because he had a cool car and was a great  
soccer player. Girls only wanted to be with him because he was popular and  
rich. No one had ever wanted to be with _him_ though. That's why he had taken  
this trip, he needed to get away from everything and find out what he really  
wanted. And what he really wanted was to be a landscape photographer. He  
had been to some of the most beautiful places and had been inspired. Plus,  
his favorite class in high school had been photography. And English. He  
could vividly picture himself traveling around the world taking pictures and  
writing about them. He could also picture the look on his father's face  
when he told him.  
Gabe sighed and looked down the street. Elizabeth wasn't coming. He  
climbed into his car and started the engine. Just as he was about to pull  
into drive, someone knocked on his window. Gabe glanced over and saw   
Elizabeth standing there holding a backpack. She looked even worse than  
yesterday, her eyes were all puffy like she had just been crying and she  
looked out of breath. Gabe stared at her for a moment and his heart  
clenched. He popped open her door and she gingerly climbed in.  
"Thanks," she said softly.  
He gave her a small smile and then he began to drive. He cleared his throat  
and opened his mouth to ask her if she was okay but she interrupted him  
before he could speak.  
"Don't" she sobbed. Then she turned her gaze out her window and Gabe  
shut his mouth. And they continued in silence. 

"And now, the moment you've all been waiting for!" Mr. Cooper shouted  
into the microphone. "It's time to announce this year's homecoming  
king and queen!"  
A loud cheer went out and Jessica grinned at Jeremy. They had spent  
the whole night dancing and kissing and laughing. Jeremy squeezed her  
hand. "You're a shoo-in," he whispered into her ear, his breath tickling her  
ear and making her glow.  
"And Jessica shall be my lady," Will said bowing.  
"What makes you so sure you're going to win?" Melissa said poking him  
in the ribs.  
"Yeah," Jessica said laughing. "They king is usually a joke. The guy who  
won last year was the class clown."  
"Did someone call my name?" Andy said coming up. He was joined by  
his date, Jade Wu.  
"This year's homecoming queen is….Jessica Wakefield !"  
Jessica shrieked and hugged Jeremy. "Congratulations, baby!" he said  
and gave her a big kiss in front of everybody. Jessica ran up to the stage  
and Maria Slater handed her a huge bouquet of flowers and placed a small  
tiara on her head. Jessica smiled as she looked out into the crowd of cheers.  
She saw Jeremy blow her a kiss and Melissa and Tia and Lila were doing a  
little wave. Jessica continued searching and realized the person she was looking  
for wasn't there. The one person who she had shared everything with, wasn't going  
to be here for this. Jessica felt sad and she realized she missed Elizabeth .  
But feedback from Mr. Cooper's mike brought her back to reality.  
"And Jessica's king is…Winston Egbert!"  
A look of pure horror crossed Jessica face as cheers and laugher erupted.  
Winston made his way through the crowd and hopped onto the stage. He  
ignored Maria and walked right over to Jessica and said loudly, "My beautiful  
queen!" Before Jessica could react, Winston had swept her back and gave  
her a long, exaggerated kiss. The whole place went wild and Jessica had to  
laugh. As she and Winston made their way down the platform into the crowd  
for their dance, Jessica bumped into Enid and shot her a dirty look. She  
and Winston danced to the class song and then they started in on another  
ballad. Jeremy tapped Winston on the shoulder and grinned "Can I steal  
your queen?"  
"Usually I would have your head for saying that, but since you're bigger  
than me…" Winston joked.  
Jeremy took Jessica into his arms and they slowly swayed back and forth  
to the music, each lost in the arms of the other. 

"Hello, sleeping beauty," Mrs. Wakefield said to Jessica. Jessica groaned  
and fell into the kitchen chair. She looked at the clock. It was two in the  
afternoon. After the dance they had all gone to Will's for a party and then  
she and Jeremy had driven around and had ended up at the beach. It  
had been almost five in the morning when he had finally dropped her off.  
"I was voted queen," Jessica said.  
"Oh, sweetie, that's wonderful!" Mrs. Wakefield said beaming. "I'm so proud  
of you. I just wish Liz had been there to see you. She and Enid spent  
last night together."  
"No they didn't," Jessica said confused. "I saw Enid at the dance last night."  
"But she left a note saying that she and Enid were having a girl's night." Mrs.  
Wakefield looked puzzled. Then she picked up the phone and dialed Enid 's  
number. Then Maria's. Then Todd's. Half and hour later Mrs. Wakefield looked  
worried. "I don't understand, why would Liz lie about where she was going  
and why isn't she back yet?"  
"Call Andy, 555-3481," Jessica said coldly. "Conner might know where she is."  
"Why would Conner know?" Mrs. Wakefield said, but she dialed anyway.  
Then she hung up. "Andy and Conner haven't seen her."  
Jessica and Mrs. Wakefield went upstairs and into Elizabeth 's bedroom.  
Jessica opened Elizabeth 's drawers and noticed they were mostly empty.  
"I think she's run away," Jessica said simply. 

The next chapter will be more exciting, I promise and a major turning point  
in the story!!


	12. Gone

"What do you mean, she's gone?" Conner snapped.   
"Well, a lot of her clothes are gone and no one has seen or heard   
from her in over a day!" Jessica snapped back.   
Jeremy shifted uncomfortably. Conner could relate. The last thing   
he wanted to do was spend even a second in the presence of Jessica   
Wakefield. But Liz…he couldn't believe it when Jessica had called him   
this afternoon. He was surprised she did and he felt grateful…and   
scared…and guilty. Conner couldn't help but feeling that this was his   
fault, and if he had just talked to Elizabeth she never would have felt   
he need to run away.   
Jessica glared at him and then wrapped her arm around Jeremy.   
"Conner," she purred, her tone switching. "I don't believe you've met   
Jeremy."   
Conner gave Jeremy a small nod and then looked away.   
"He's my boyfriend," Jessica added. Jeremy cleared his throat and   
Conner shut his eyes. He couldn't believe that Jessica was acting so   
lame just to make him jealous. There was no way that she could still   
like him after what he did. Hell, he hadn't even thought about _her_ in   
weeks. Unlike Elizabeth who was on his brain, oh, every second.   
Then for effect, Jessica leaned in and gave Jeremy a long exaggerated   
kiss. Jeremy turned bright red and Conner tried to hold back a laugh.   
"Jess, can we see her room?" he said impatiently.   
Jessica sighed with exasperation and led Conner and Jeremy upstairs.   
"A lot of stuff is missing from her drawers and closet," Jessica said   
gesturing. "My mom and dad went to Sweet Valley University to see if   
she's with Steven or somebody because they haven't been able to get a   
hold of Steven. They told me to look around and see if I could find   
anything that might suggest where she's gone." Jeremy and Conner   
nodded. Jessica flopped down on Elizabeth's bed and started to paw   
through the nightstand. Conner blushed at the picture and the   
memory of that night…   
Jeremy logged on to Elizabeth's computer and started checking   
at the sites that she had accessed recently. Conner felt weird going   
through Elizabeth's stuff, especially behind her back. But he really   
wanted her to come home and to be with him…as needy as that sounded.   
Conner scanned the contents of her desk drawers but he didn't see   
anything that would suggest where she might have taken off. Jeremy   
shut the computer down and looked through the trashcan and then went   
into the bathroom to look through that trashcan. A moment later a loud   
clanging noise rang through the house and Jessica and Conner looked   
up in surprise. They got up and joined Jeremy in the small bathroom.   
Conner's mind again went into overdrive when he remembered scaring   
Elizabeth in here wearing nothing but a towel. But the look on Jeremy's   
face brought Conner back to reality. It was look of surprise, sympathy,   
and confusion. "Conner," Jeremy said quietly. Conner was trying to   
figure out what was going on when he saw something in Jeremy's hand.   
He saw that it was a white stick. Conner felt a deep feeling in his stomach.   
Jessica had gone pale and wouldn't look at Conner or the stick. Jeremy   
held it out to Conner who took it silently. He stared at the small stick   
and saw that there were two faint lines showing on the middle of the   
stick. Conner felt his whole world stop. "What…. Does this mean?"   
he choked out hoarsely, even though he had a pretty good idea what it meant.  
Jessica glanced at it and said coldly, "It means that you got my sister   
in trouble." 

"Look who finally decided to grace us with her presence," Gabe said smiling.   
Elizabeth gave him a weak smile in return and set down her bagel and orange  
juice. "Sorry, I'm just really tired."   
"Well, you're lucky that you woke up in time, the breakfast bar closes in five   
minutes," Gabe said raising his eyebrows.   
Elizabeth shrugged and began to pick at her bagel. Gabe returned to his   
newspaper and tried to read about the new sewer system that the LA mayor   
was proposing, but Elizabeth was just too distracting. Gabe was dying to   
know her story. She was definitely a woman of mystery, which made her   
infinitely sexier. After a few minutes of silence, Elizabeth glanced up at   
him. "Look, Gabe, I know I've been kind of a jerk. You didn't have to invite   
me to come with you, but you did and I've been nothing but standoffish and   
rude. I'm sorry, and I guess I just wanted to say thanks. This really means   
a lot to me."  
Gabe was speechless. Could it be that Elizabeth was finally warming up   
to him? "It's okay," he said gently. "I understand that you needed space   
and a little bit of time…_believe me_, I understand."   
Elizabeth gave him a small smile and Gabe's heart clenched. That small   
smile was pretty much the best thing that had happened to him since he   
had left home.   
"You should eat more," Gabe said turning away. "That crumb of bagel you   
put into your mouth was the only thing I've seen you eat since I've met you."   
Elizabeth turned bright red and jammed a huge chunk of it into her mouth.   
"See, I eat," she protested as bagel oozed out the sides of her mouth.  
"Attractive," Gabe said laughing and he handed her a napkin.   
Elizabeth grabbed the bagel and prepared to take another bite, but she   
hesitated and a strange look came over her face. She set the bagel down   
and stared at Gabe. "I hate to ask you this…but can you take me to   
a doctor's?"   
Gabe looked at her intently. "Sure," he said. Sure, he had wanted to see   
the sites, but he knew that Elizabeth would never ask a favor of him unless   
she really, really needed it. And the fact that she had asked, made him feel   
needed, a feeling he hadn't felt in a long time. 

Conner's mouth was dry. He couldn't say a word. Which was probably better,   
because at that moment he couldn't remember a single word. This tiny stick   
had reduced him to a stuttering idiot. Ironic, because that's what Elizabeth   
had reduced him to half the time. He stared blankly around the small   
bathroom. Jeremy looked uncomfortable and was staring at his feet.   
Jessica was turning an interesting shade of purple. Conner cleared his throat   
and unclenched his hand causing the pregnancy test to fall from his fingers   
and drop to the floor. The sound it made when it hit the tiles was like a bomb   
going off.   
"I can't believe this," Conner said hoarsely and collapsed onto the seat of the   
toilet. "I can't believe any of this."   
"You better believe it," Jessica snapped, placing her hands on her hips. "I   
just can't believe that you two…behind my back!" she yelled, unable to say   
the words.   
Conner stood up, his body completely rigid. "This is all your fault,   
Wakefield," he growled.   
"My fault?" Jessica said sputtering. "I'm not the one who seduced my   
sister into bed! How dare you say this is my fault!" she said jabbing her   
finger onto Conner's chest.   
"If you had let us be together then she wouldn't have run away!" Conner   
said pacing in the small space. "She only ran away because she thought   
that she couldn't tell me…or face anyone. She thought that no one cared   
about her. She doesn't know how much I cared…how much I still care.   
Because of you," Conner said coldly.   
Jessica paled. "That's not true," she said softly. "All I did was try make   
her feel how badly I felt."   
"That's impossible, Jess. Because you didn't love me." Jessica was   
silent. "Because you know she'd never cheat on you if she didn't. She   
felt horrible Jess…she never once forgot you…"   
Jessica looked away and Conner could tell that she was trying to hold   
back tears. "But none of this would have happened if you had just told   
me the truth," she said quietly.   
"No," Conner agreed. "Nothing would have happened because Liz and   
I would never have been allowed to be together. She would never have   
been able to date me after I broke your heart."   
"But wouldn't it have been better not to hurt me then to have been together   
and hurt both of us?" Jessica cried.   
"We tried to stay away from each other as long as we could-"   
"What? That's supposed to make me feel better? How noble of the two of   
you!" Jessica said sarcastically. "Didn't you guys ever once stop and think   
what you were doing to me? My reputation?"   
"God Jess!" Conner yelled. "You know, not everything is about you! For   
once this isn't about you. This is about me and Liz and our little baby   
growing in her stomach. In no way is there a you in this whole mess!"   
"Jeremy?" Jessica whimpered. "Are you going to let him say those things   
about me?"   
Jeremy opened his mouth to talk but Conner cut him off. "Can't take   
people saying things about you? You let people say those things   
about Elizabeth when she didn't have anyone to defend herself.   
What she needed most was friends and support but thanks to you   
and your friends big mouth she had no one to turn to.   
Jeremy looked at Jessica questionably.   
"If you hadn't spread all those lies and stories about Elizabeth around   
school, she never would have been lonely enough to run away."   
Jessica started to cry quietly. Conner continued. "You know that even   
though Elizabeth went behind your back, you know she would never say   
stuff like that about you. You spread those rumors and you caused her   
more pain then I ever did because I was just her boyfriend. You're   
her sister."   
Jeremy shot Jessica a look of disgust and pushed out of the room.   
"Jeremy, wait!" Jessica cried out pitifully. Conner shot her a look of   
disgust and he also left. Jessica collapsed onto the bathroom floor in   
a frenzy of uncontrollable sobs. 

"No," Gabe said grabbing Elizabeth's arm. "Don't give them your   
insurance card," he hissed into her ear. "You're under your parents   
name, right? They'll be able to trace your activity."   
"But I don't have enough money," she hissed back.   
Gabe reached into his back pocket and pulled out his credit card and   
handed it to the receptionist.   
Elizabeth poked him in the side and gave him a dirty look, which, he   
ignored. Elizabeth sighed. He had done too much for her already…he   
didn't need to pay for her screw-ups. They sat in the waiting room   
for what seemed like hours until they were finally called. Elizabeth   
stood up and gave Gabe a tug. "Can you please come with me?"   
Gabe started to protest but when he saw the pain in her eyes, he   
allowed himself to be led back to the examining room. The nurse   
asked Elizabeth the basic questions about her height and weight. She   
handed Elizabeth a robe and left. Elizabeth stared at Gabe and he   
turned around as she slipped her clothes off and put the robe on.   
They sat in silence until the doctor came. He asked her a lot of   
embarrassing questions and Elizabeth looked at the floor while she   
answered. Then he asked her to lie down while he examined her   
and to draw fluids to make sure she was pregnant. Gabe turned away,   
which Elizabeth was very grateful for. After a few minutes the doctor   
left with blood and urine samples. When he returned he gave   
Elizabeth a large smile. "Your suspicions were correct Miss Wakefield,   
you are four weeks pregnant," he continued speaking but Elizabeth   
wasn't hearing a word of what he said. This was the end of her life.   
Conner would freak and bail, her parents would disown her and she   
would be the outcast of the century. She nodded mutely to the   
doctor's words of encouragement. "While you're not required to   
say, it would be wise to let us know who the father of the baby is."   
"Uh-" she stammered. "You didn't want to point the finger at Conner   
yet. "Would it go on the birth certificate?" Elizabeth asked.   
"No," the doctor assured her. "It's just for our own personal records in   
case question of the paternity arise. The obstetrician and city records  
will never know anything except what you tell them."   
Elizabeth didn't know what to say. Basically the doctor was letting her  
lie.   
"It's me," Gabe spoke up for the first time. "Gabriel Stewart."   
The doctor nodded and jotted it down. He left and Elizabeth turned to  
Gabe. "You didn't have to do that."   
Her gave he hand a squeeze. "I know."


	13. Taking Off

Thanks for the reviews. A lot of people have been confused about  
when Conner and Liz slept together. It's at the beginning of  
chapter 7; they're in bed together afterwards. In future chapters  
more about their time together will be revealed. 

If it weren't for Gabe's strong arms around her shoulders, helping her   
into their hotel room, Elizabeth would have collapsed into hysterics.   
He opened their door and led her into the dark room. He helped her lay   
down onto the bed and he turned the bedside lamp on. He looked at   
her with a small smile. "Can I get you anything? A blanket, food?"   
Elizabeth shook her head. Gabe was too good to her. "Just stay   
with me," she said quietly and scooted over. Gabe hesitated then   
climbed next to her and put an arm around her shoulder. Liz buried her   
face into his chest. Elizabeth needed his strength. There was no way   
she could go back to Sweet Valley now. If Conner wasn't already   
ignoring her, with this little surprise he would probably flee to Canada .   
Everyone at school would also know that the rumors were true. But   
more importantly, Elizabeth knew that she couldn't take care of a baby.   
She was only seventeen and didn't have a full time job and she didn't   
even have a high school diploma. There was no way she could handle   
taking care of a baby even if Conner _did_ stick around.   
"You're going to be okay, you know," Gabe said softly.   
"What makes you so sure?" Elizabeth said bitingly. "My whole life is   
going to be different."   
"You're right," he said, agreeing with her. "But you're a strong person   
and you'll get through this."   
"How can I?" Elizabeth said, tears forming in her eyes. "I don't have   
anyone. My sister isn't speaking to me, my parents will kill me, and   
my boyfriend, my _ex_-boyfriend would freak out."   
"What about your friends?"   
Elizabeth laughed harshly "My sister took care of that."   
"Tell me about it," Gabe urged her. That was all Elizabeth needed and   
the whole story flew out, everything about Jessica and Conner and   
the rumors and the baby.   
"What makes it so hard is that Conner just left me, he didn't even give   
me an explanation."   
"He was probably giving you space and time to sort out the mess with   
your sister. He would have just gotten in the way and you guys being   
together would be rubbing it in Jessica's face and would prevent   
you two from making up."   
"Maybe you're right," Elizabeth said sighing. "But he should have   
talked to me. I needed him more than ever right then."   
"But was he supposed to know about the baby? It's not like he's a   
mind reader," Gabe reminded her gently.   
Elizabeth was quiet. "I know, I just miss him so much."   
Gabe looked at Elizabeth 's face. She was trying to hold back tears   
and the pain and longing and love in her eyes was evident. Elizabeth   
was nowhere near getting over this guy. And it was at that moment   
that Gabe realized that his crush on her was beyond hopeless and   
that putting a move on her would only cause him pain. Elizabeth   
needed a friend right now that was all he could be for her.   
"I want you to know how much I appreciate you," Elizabeth said   
looking at him. "There's no way I could have gotten through all this   
without you. I also don't want you thinking of me as some kind   
of tramp. Conner was my first and it was only that one day."   
"I never thought that about you," Gabe said. "You're a great girl who's  
just having some problems."   
They sat in silent for a while. "Gabe, I need to go back to Sweet Valley ."   
"Okay, I'll drive you back tomorrow."   
"No," Elizabeth said shaking her head. "I'll take the bus back. I don't   
want to inconvience you. And plus, I need to do this by myself."   
Gabe nodded. "I'll make sure you have a ticket."   
Elizabeth gave him a small hug. "I don't know how to thank you…you've   
been amazing."   
Gabe hugged her back. "Why don't you go take a hot bath and try to   
relax? I'll take care of your things."   
Elizabeth nodded and headed off to the bathroom. Gabe pulled out   
the phone book and then paused. He knew Elizabeth needed to go   
home, but he was really going to miss her. 

"Hey," Jessica said quietly, sitting down next to Jeremy who was sitting   
on the top step of the Wakefield 's front porch.   
Jeremy was silent which Jessica did not take as a good sign. She   
understood why he was mad. He had told her just a few days ago that   
he thought what everyone was doing to Elizabeth was sick. She had   
murmured her agreement, lying to him that he was one of the reasons   
that the rumors were circulating. She hadn't actually spread the rumors,   
but she had let Melissa and her friends think things that weren't exactly   
true. Well, they turned out to _be_ true, but they didn't know that. Plus,   
Jessica had stood silently bye while Gina, Amy, Cherie, Lila, and   
Melissa had made Elizabeth and Conner's life a living hell.   
_Please forgive me!_ She silently pleaded towards Jeremy. For some   
reason, his opinion of her really mattered. He was one of the first people,   
besides Elizabeth , that didn't see her as the popular blond of the   
cheerleading squad. Jeremy saw her as a real person, a kind and funny   
and thoughtful person. Jessica liked that person.   
"Listen, about what Conner said," Jessica started, but Jeremy cut her off.   
"I know that you were mad at Elizabeth and I'm not saying that what she   
did was right, but how could you destroy her like that? No one deserves to   
be treated like that, especially your sister."   
"I know," Jessica said quietly, trying to hold back tears. "I never   
meant for things to get out of hand. I shouldn't have let people think   
that that stuff was true. I didn't spread the rumors, but I started them   
and let them continue. I know that I'm the reason that Elizabeth ran away.   
She felt so alone and felt that no one could help her or be there for her."   
Jeremy didn't argue. "I thought you were better than that, Jess," he said   
snapping a small twig.   
Jessica could feel the tears run down her face. "I _am_ better than that,   
Jeremy. I behaved horribly and I feel awful-"   
"Save it, Jessica," Jeremy snapped and Jessica burst into tears. Jeremy   
was silent as Jessica cried. After a while he said, "This isn't all about   
Elizabeth. Before when you introduced me and made sure Conner   
got the idea that I was your boyfriend and that way you but on a show   
to make him jealous. I don't think you're over him Jessica."   
"I am," Jessica protested and she realized that it was true. After she   
found out about Conner and Elizabeth she had felt angry and betrayed,   
sure. But she never tried to get Conner back. But all she cared about   
now was getting Jeremy to look at her and forgive her. "I was trying to   
make Conner jealous," she said carefully. "Only to show him how   
happy I am without him. It's just something that girls do, but I don't   
want him back. Conner was right, we don't belong together."   
"I don't like being used for games," Jeremy said curtly. He stood up   
and started towards his car.   
Jessica grabbed his writs and also stood up. "You're not going to leave?"   
Jeremy sighed and turned and looked at her. Jessica could see the   
hurt and the pain in his eyes.   
"Yeah, I'm going to take off."   
"What about us?" Jessica said not letting go.   
Jeremy looked away and then turned to face her again. "I wish I could   
hate you Jess, but I can't. But I'm going to need time…and space."   
"No," Jessica said panicked. Time and space usually meant a guy wanted   
time to find a less harsh way to dump you.   
Jeremy pulled himself away from Jessica and got into his car. As he pulled   
out of the driveway Jessica hoped that that wouldn't be the last time   
she saw him. 

Conner dumped another creamer into his coffee and watched the white   
swirl dissolve into the caramel colored coffee. Conner hated cream in   
his coffee. It had been an hour since he had left the Wakefield 's and   
the Jessica and Jeremy drama. Conner felt sorry for Jeremy, having to   
deal with Jessica's hysterics. Thank goodness it was no longer his   
responsibility. He felt so helpless. He knew he had to do something   
or he would loose his mind. His mind was on overdrive with all the   
stuff that had happened in the last few days. He couldn't believe that   
Elizabeth was going to have their baby. He was hurt that she hadn't   
felt that she could come to him. But the way he had been ignoring   
her…he couldn't exactly blame her either. Usually the guy was the   
one who bolted, and don't think that the thought hadn't crossed his   
mind. But running was the immature thing to do. He was going to have   
to deal with it and he was going to have to face Elizabeth . He was   
going to have to go find her. He had to find her to tell her that he   
knew that he wanted to be with her…that he loved her. Which scared   
him more than anything else in the world.   
Suddenly, he felt someone slouch into the seat across from him.   
Conner looked up in surprise and saw a girl with a mane of red curls   
and enough attitude to fill the entire state of California . He also   
noted that the coffee house had filled up and that there were no   
empty seats. The girl was wearing a black Led Zeppelin shirt   
and Conner applauded her good taste in music.   
She was actually quite pretty.   
"What are you looking at?" she snapped at Conner.   
"Nothing," he snapped back. "You just look a little…lonely."   
The girls face softened ever so slightly. "I guess, I just had a fight with   
my parents."   
Conner nodded. "Yeah, parents can be such a joke sometimes."   
The girl nodded enthusiastically. "I know. My parents caught me   
drinking one lousy beer and they act like him an alcoholic. When _  
they're _the ones with the problem."   
"Totally agree," Conner said.   
"By the way, I'm Alanna," the girl said giving him a flirtatious grin.   
"Conner."   
"So, Conner what is a guy like you doing here sitting alone drinking  
coffee?" Alanna said leaning foreword towards Conner.  
Conner gave her a surprised look. It had been so long since a girl   
had paid attention to him, other then to shoot him dirty looks and to   
call him a bastard.  
"Because if you want I have two tickets to see Hometown Buffet play at   
the Shack."  
Conner hesitated and then looked at Alanna's hopeful face. "I can't.   
But thanks for asking."  
"Oh," Alanna slumped back down.   
"It's not what you think," Conner said quickly. Since when did he care   
about other people's feelings? "I kind of...well...there's girl...and we kind   
of have a _thing_ going on."  
"Right," said Alanna coolly. "I understand."  
"No, she's in trouble and she's ran away...and I have no idea where to find her."  
"You sound like a bad nursery rhyme," Alanna said smirking.   
"If you were pregnant and didn't have any friends, where would you go?"   
Alanna was looking at Conner like he had three heads "I don't know, probably  
L.A."  
"Dammit!" Conner said pushing back his coffee. "I have to go...it was nice talking   
to you Annie."  
Conner flew out of the House of Java before Alanna could even open her mouth. 


	14. Thank You

Conner pounded his steering wheel in frustration. He had no idea   
that L.A. had so many hotels. It was only ten in the morning and he   
felt like he had been to every one of them. He had been checking   
hotels all up the coast to Los Angeles with no luck. The first couple   
of places he had out right asked if Elizabeth was there. Many of them   
had told him that it was against policy to give out a customer's info.   
One guy had even threatened to call the police. Conner had quickly   
discovered a way to get people to tell him what he wanted. Sure, it   
made him look like a fool, but he needed to find Liz. He drove to the   
next hotel on the page he had torn from the city directory. The Sun   
Coast Inn. Conner scowled at the lame name. They were fifteen   
minutes from the beach and surrounded by gray cement buildings.   
He walked into the lobby and went to the front desk. Show time.  
Conner cleared this throat. A bored young woman, wearing a loose   
fitting lavender sweater looked up. "Can I help you?" Conner hated   
lavender. It was so…cloying.  
"Yeah," he said looking down, putting a hint of morose into his voice.   
"My wife and I had an argument last night and…and I said some things   
I shouldn't have and she left. Sometimes when she gets angry she   
comes here. I'm really sorry, and I couldn't go to work without making   
sure she's okay, and that she's not mad anymore."  
The woman's gaze had softened, and she tucked a loose strand of   
brown hair behind her ear. "That's so sweet. I have no idea if she's   
here or not. I didn't come on duty until this morning."  
"Here's her picture," Conner said, handing the picture Elizabeth had given   
him. It was her junior year picture.  
The woman glanced at it. She blushed, slowly looked at Conner. "Listen,   
you seem like a really nice guy. I saw her this morning; she checked   
out….she was with a guy. I'm sorry."  
Conner's blood ran cold. Elizabeth was seeing someone else? Conner   
jammed his fists into his pockets. "Did they say anything?" he said gruffly.   
"About where they were going?"  
The woman shook her head. "Listen, I'm sorry."  
"Yeah, whatever," Conner said than stormed out of the stifling building   
and its fake palm trees, and the nosy clerk and her puppy dog gaze.  
"Wait!" a voice called out.  
Conner turned around and saw the clerk running towards him. She ran a   
hand through her hair.  
"What?" he said confused.  
"I think I might be able to help," she said hesitantly. "I think you're crazy,   
though. If you're wife is messing around with other guys behind your   
back…"  
"Just…just tell me what you know," Conner said, beginning to lose   
patience.  
"The guy she was with, really cute, mentioned that they were going to   
San Jose . They left about an hour ago."  
"Thanks," Conner said quickly. "How do you get there?"  
"Get on the freeway down the street, it takes you directly there," she   
explained.  
"Listen, I got to go. Thanks," he said giving her a tight smile.  
Conner turned and dashed to his car. He had no time to waste. Every   
second took him farther away from Liz. 

"Just let me drop my bags off," Gabe said. "I'll be ten minutes, tops."  
"It's okay," Elizabeth said smiling. "It's a nice day out, I don't mind   
hanging outside."  
"Are you feeling any better?" he said looking at her. "You didn't touch a   
thing at breakfast."  
"I wasn't hungry. I don't feel great. I guess it's just morning sickness. I   
do have kind of a weird feeling in my stomach. Like a dull ache." She   
shrugged. "I'm fine."  
Gabe nodded and walked into the hotel.   
Elizabeth sat on the wooden bench in front of the hotel. Gabe was   
dropping his bags off and then they would go to the bus station. Elizabeth   
wrapped her arms around herself. She would be lying to herself if she   
didn't admit that she was a little scared about going home. She was going   
have to face everyone at school. She was going to have to tell Conner   
about the baby. She doubted that would go very well. He would either catch   
the next flight to Hong Kong or claimed he had never met her before. Then   
she would have to tell her parents. She should probably need a police escort   
for that one. Then she would have to deal with Jessica. Elizabeth hesitated.   
She knew if she asked Gabe, he would let her go with him on his trip. If   
things had been different she probably would have agreed. But running   
away wasn't going to solve anything. And the last thing Gabe needed was   
a pregnant girl ruining his year of discovery.  
She started to shiver, which was weird because even though it was October,   
it was seventy-five degrees out. She closed her eyes. She opened   
them and everything seemed blurry. She tried to stand up, but everything   
was spinning. She grabbed the rail of the bench, and tried to find her balance.   
The pain in her stomach was almost unbearable. She let out a gargled moan.   
She saw Gabe, but he was all fuzzy and blurry. Gabe was moving his mouth,   
but she couldn't hear what he was saying. She tried to walk towards him,   
but she lost her balance and fell. Then everything went blank. 

Conner cursed under his breath. San Jose was a mess of streets, and he   
had already been turned around about five times. There were fewer   
hotels, which was good. He turned left, but he didn't recognize the street.   
The guy at the gas station had said there were a couple of cheap hotels past   
the post office, but Conner didn't see the post office, unless the post   
office masqueraded as Benny's Chili House. Conner pushed on the   
gas pedal, but stopped when he saw flashing lights. Great, an accident was   
the last thing he needed. This whole trip had been doomed from the start.   
Conner drove slowly past an ambulance. They were hoisting a girl onto a   
stretcher. Conner squinted to get a closer look. He slammed on the breaks.   
He half hazerdly maneuvered his car to the side of the road, and climbed   
out. He ran towards the crowd of people. He pushed past several nosy   
onlookers. He reached the ambulance attendant. " Elizabeth ," he choked   
out.  
"Stand back," the attendant ordered him. "We need room."  
"But she's my girlfriend, is she okay?" Conner said getting angry.  
There was a guy standing near by, preparing to climb in the ambulance.   
He gave Conner an odd look. Conner realized that this must be the guy   
Elizabeth had been with. "You," he said. "You stay away from my girlfriend."  
"Cool it," the attendant ordered, hoisting Elizabeth up into the ambulance. He   
climbed in and closed the door.  
"Damn," Conner shouted. He raced to his car, and sped off after the   
ambulance. He had finally found Elizabeth and he wasn't going to lose her now. 

Gabe paced the deserted waiting room. He had only left Elizabeth for a   
minute. He knew that it wasn't his fault, but he couldn't help but blame   
himself anyway. Somehow, in less than a week, she had become   
important to him. She was the first person he had cared about since   
his mother had died. Yet Elizabeth was the one person he could never   
have. She was carrying another man's child. A man who had broken her   
heart, and yet he was still all she saw. The elevator dinged and Gabe   
glanced over. A guy emerged. He was about his age, and looked liked   
he hadn't had any sleep for the past month. He looked devastated, and   
slightly psycho. It was the guy from outside the hotel.  
The guy glanced over at him, and his eyes darkened. He stalked over to   
him, and glared straight into Gabe's face.  
"How is she? What the _hell_ is going on?"  
"She's fine," Gabe said, knowing who he was talking about. The guy   
calmed down slightly, and he looked more pained more than angry. Gabe   
knew from the guy's expression who he was. This was Elizabeth 's   
mystery man, the elusive Conner. He wasn't quite what Gabe had   
expected. He had pictured Elizabeth with Mr. Big Man on Campus, the   
kind of guy who wore a letter jacket even when it was eighty degrees   
outside. The guy who played at least three varsity sports, but managed   
to find the time to be student council president, and romance the class   
blond. Gabe had known the type. Brent Traylor had been the type, his   
girlfriend Krissy Madison, captain of the cheerleaders, valedictorian,   
wonder bra enhanced, all American girl. Gabe had been the slightly   
mysterious, loner who had stolen her from the golden boy. The guy   
she found okay to fool around with behind the bleachers, but not good   
enough to take home to meet her parents or to tell her friends that she   
was seeing. Conner could have been a dead ringer for himself. Except   
that Gabe had never cared about Krissy, he only had been interested   
in one upping jock boy.  
"What's wrong with her?" Conner demanded. "I have to see her.   
Now."  
"They didn't tell me anything," Gabe said, getting annoyed. What was   
this guy's problem?  
Conner sighed, obviously frustrated. At that moment a doctor walked out.   
"Are you guys here for Elizabeth Wakefield?"  
"Yes," they both said at the times, rushing over towards the doctor.  
" Elizabeth is going to be fine,"  
Gabe sighed with relief.  
"What was wrong with her?" Conner asked.  
The doctor shook his head. "The patient asked me not to discuss it with   
you; she'd rather tell you herself."  
"So can I see her?" Conner asked impatiently.  
"Are you Gabe Stewart?"  
"I am," Gabe said, cutting in.  
The doctor nodded. "She asked to see you."  
Conner opened his mouth to protest, but Gabe and the doctor were already   
walking away.  
Gabe walked into Elizabeth 's room, and was surprised to find her standing   
up. He had expected her to be in the bed. He smiled and hugged her.   
"How are you doing?" he asked.  
"I'm fine," she said shakily. "Thanks for grabbing my bag," she said   
gesturing to her outfit.  
"So what was wrong? Or was it just some normal pregnancy thing?"  
Elizabeth looked down at the ground. After a moment of silence she looked   
back up and Gabe could see tears in her eyes. "I lost the baby," she said   
softly. "I had a miscarriage. It wasn't my fault; it was just one of those   
things. The doctor said it isn't uncommon in the first month of pregnancy."   
Elizabeth burst into tears. Gabe wrapped his arms around her. "I'm so sorry."   
Elizabeth sniffled and wiped her eyes. "I know I wouldn't have been able   
to take care of it, but it was _my _child. I guess a part of me wanted it."  
"So, are you going to be okay?"  
"Yeah," Elizabeth said pulling away from him and wrapping her arms around   
herself protectively. "I get to go home now. They don't like to keep   
people here."  
"I'm going to drive you," Gabe said firmly. Elizabeth didn't argue. He   
grabbed her bag, and they walked towards the elevator.  
When they neared the lobby Elizabeth suddenly stopped and her whole   
body went rigid. Gabe, in all the shock had forgotten that Conner was here.   
Elizabeth appeared to be in shock. Conner hurried towards her and she   
took a step back. Conner hesitated as Elizabeth tightened her sweater   
around her body, like she was hiding her body from Conner. Except that   
she was fully clothed, and Gabe knew that Conner had seen Elizabeth   
before. Or maybe that was why she did it.  
"Liz?" Conner said carefully.  
"How…how did you find me?" Elizabeth finally said. "Why did you find me?"  
Conner shrugged. "You scared me…everyone, by running off like that. I   
needed to make sure that you were okay, and to tell you that I missed you,   
and that I want you to come back."  
Elizabeth was silent. Gabe could have sworn he saw a small smile play on   
her lips. But in a second, it was gone. "You jerk," she said, tears falling   
down her cheeks. "How could you? How could you love me, and then not   
feel anything?" she sobbed. She stumbled forwards and fell into his arms,   
sobbing. Conner wrapped his arms around her and held her.  
"I'm so sorry," Conner said softly. "I know about the baby."  
Elizabeth stared up at him in horror. Then she started crying again. This   
time with hard gasping sounds, as if she couldn't find her breath. As if   
she was crying from the gut.  
"I'm going to take you home," Conner said firmly. Elizabeth nodded into   
his chest. They broke apart, and Elizabeth walked over to Gabe.  
"I have to go," she said between tears. He nodded. Elizabeth gave him   
a weak smile. "Thank you," she said hugging him. "For everything." She   
squeezed his hand. Then she turned and went back over to Conner.   
He wrapped an arm around her, and they slowly walked toward the elevator.   
They got on and the door closed, leaving Gabe by himself. He closed his   
eyes. Elizabeth was gone. He knew she would leave. She had never   
been his. He needed to go back to his life. But what kind of life did he   
have? Roaming across the country like a bum? He said he needed to   
see the country, experience life. But he didn't need to travel across the   
country to do that. He opened up his clenched hand. In it was Elizabeth 's   
gold ' Elizabeth ' necklace. The one he had touched when they first met.   
He clenched his fist up again, and with his other hand, pulled out his cell   
phone. He then dialed the number that he knew by heart. "Hello? Dad,   
it's me, Gabe. I'm coming home."

Sorry it took so long for this chapter to come out! The chapter was all about  
Liz, so to be fair the next chapter will be all about Jessica. Please feel free  
to review! 


	15. CoCaptain My Butt

For this chapter I'm going to jump to the past so we can check up   
on Jessica. Conner left to get Liz on a Friday and found her Saturday.   
This chapter takes place Friday and Saturday.

Jessica stepped out of the jeep and gave the door a hard slam.   
She readjusted her purse and glanced up at the sky. How ironic   
that it was so sunny, when she felt so gray. She rummaged around   
in her bag and pulled out her sunglasses. She then pulled out her   
compact and looked in the small mirror. She had caked her face   
with concealor to hide the redness of her eyes and the dark circles   
under them. At least one thing was going her way. She didn't look   
like she had been dumped. She took a deep breath. She could do   
this, she was a great actress. All she had to do was not bring up   
Jeremy's name, or if one of her friends were to mention him, she   
could breezily change the subject and act like nothing was wrong.   
Jessica clenched her eyes shut as she felt another wave of tears   
come on. Maybe she should just avoid her friends. They weren't   
the best people to be around with in a crisis. Jessica hated to admit  
it, but her friends had never been sympathetic or understanding.   
They had all been pretty selfish. Jessica leaned against the jeep   
and glanced at her watch. There were fifteen minutes before   
homeroom started. She would just hang out here until the last   
possible minute.   
She had spent all last night crying. She had finally been able to   
stop around three in the morning. Then she had sat in bed numbly  
until her mom had woken her up for school. Her mom hadn't noticed   
that anything was wrong. They were wrapped up in Elizabeth . They   
had the police combing the tri-county area for her and Mr. and Mrs.   
Wakefield had gone out with them everyday. Jessica knew that   
Elizabeth didn't want to be found. She figured that she was out of   
California by now. With Jeremy dumping her…it was just too much.   
She hadn't felt like this when she had caught Conner cheating on   
her. Sure, she had been upset, but mostly because she had been   
betrayed and lied to. Not because she was so in love with Conner,  
that she couldn't imagine life without him. She hadn't been a mess   
like Elizabeth had been. But with Jeremy…even though she hadn't   
known him that long, when she was with him she felt happy and   
alive…and loved.   
Jessica knew he wasn't going to come back. Jeremy was big on   
honesty and she had lied to him and now he thought she was a   
heartless bh. He wasn't going to trust her.   
Jessica glanced at her watch again. She should head in unless   
she wanted to be marked tardy. She pulled out her lipstick and put   
another coat on. Then she smoothed down her skirt. She had   
taken extra time to make sure that she looked fabulous. It was   
what every girl did after she was dumped. She had to look great   
so the guy knew what he was missing. Only thing was, Jeremy   
didn't go to her school. But it still didn't hurt.   
Jessica marched defiantly into the school. She refused to make   
eye contact with anyone but she could feel everyone staring at her.   
She knew she looked good.   
"Uh, Jess?" she turned. It was Melissa, Will, Tia, and Lila standing   
by her locker. Busted.   
"Hey," she said giving them a bright smile. "I'm running a little late   
this morning. Shouldn't you guys be in homeroom?"   
"Jess?" Melissa said staring at her. "Homeroom doesn't start for twenty   
minutes.   
Jessica glanced quickly at her watch. 7:40. what an idiot she was. It   
must have been the lack of sleep. "I am such a spaz," she said,   
trying to laugh it off. She opened her locker and started rummaging   
around, pretending to look for her history book. Even though it was  
in the same place it always was.   
"Did Jeremy dump you or something?" Lila said, cracking her gum.   
"What?" Jessica said turning towards Lila. "How did you know?" Of   
course Lila knew she had known her _forever_. "  
Lila glanced at Tia and Melissa. "Come on Jess." She gestured   
towards her outfit. "I mean, you always look fabulous, but you never   
dress like you're ready to hit the L.A. hot spots."   
Jessica looked down at her outfit. She was wearing a short, black   
leather skirt, with her knee high boots.   
"Do I look like a slut?" Jessica said frantically.   
"No," Lila quickly assured her. "You look awesome. But it's obvious   
you're trying to look good on purpose. I mean leather?"   
Jessica closed her locker and leaned against it. "It's that obvious? I'm _  
so_ pathetic!" she moaned.   
"You're pathetic _and_ hot," Josh Radinsky said, coming up to her   
group with Cherie.   
"Thanks," Jessica said rolling her eyes.   
"So you and Jeremy broke up?" Melissa said sympathetically.   
"What happened?"   
"I don't want to talk about it," Jessica said closing her eyes, trying to   
hold back her tears. "I just…after Conner…maybe it's me."   
"What?" Lila said laughing. "Are you kidding? It's so obvious it's the guys.   
Guys can be such idiot's sometimes."   
"Jeremy wasn't making out with your sister, was he?" Gina said giggling.   
"No, Elizabeth ran away, remember?" Cherie said. "She'd run out of   
guys in Sweet Valley who would sleep with her."   
Jessica stared open mouthed at her two 'friends'. They had said worse   
things before, but Jessica was finally beginning to realize how far things   
had gotten. What had started out as a bitter speculation had turned into a   
full blown mission to destroy her sister. Jessica wanted no part in it.   
Jeremy was right. Even though she hadn't directly spread the rumors, she   
had provided the fuel. And this needed to stop.   
"Shut up," she said coldly. "My sister didn't do any of those things."   
Cherie and Gina stared at her in shock. Melissa and Lila had raised their   
eyebrows and Tia looked confused.   
"Excuse me?" Cherie's shrill voice demanded. Gosh, the girl could be _  
really_ annoying sometimes. Her voice had gathered the attention of   
most of the people in the hallway.   
"My sister didn't sleep with Conner or any other guys," Jessica said a   
little louder this time. Okay, so she _had _slept with Conner, but the   
other part was true.   
"What are you talking about?" Gina challenged. "Everyone knows it's   
true. You saw them together, and Amy saw them going at it at the Riot."   
"What?" she exclaimed. "None of that is remotely true. I saw Conner   
and Liz kissing, sure. But that's all. None of the other stuff happened.   
Come on, you guys all know Liz," she said looking at Lila and Amy.   
"She would never do any of that stuff. Elizabeth is one of the nicest   
girls in the school. I mean, how many of us have gone to her for help   
when we had problems? How many times as she helped people out   
of messes and problems? How can we say all those things about her   
after all she's done for us? I mean, yeah, she made a mistake. But   
every single one of us has before. I mean hello? I cheated on Ken.   
Amy, you and Bruce cheated on Regina . Or how about when Todd and   
I cheated on Liz? What she did was wrong, but she doesn't deserve   
to be punished for it."   
Jessica took a deep breath and looked around. Most people were   
looking down and a couple were nodding there heads. Jessica smiled   
slightly. She had finally gotten through to them. "If I hear anything being   
said about Liz, you'll have to answer to me."   
The crowd broke up as the early bell rang. All of Jessica's friends were   
staring at her in surprise.   
Tia opened her mouth, and then shut it. Then she opened it again "You   
mean all those things about Conner and Liz aren't true? But you said   
that you saw-"   
"Tia, I think you might have misunderstood what Jessica was saying,"   
Melissa said smoothly. "I was there."   
"Are you calling me a liar?" Tia said, steeping towards Melissa. "I know   
what I heard, and I think Jessica's covering."   
"Are you calling_ me_ and liar? I was there, and I clearly remember   
Jessica saying she thought they _might_ be sleeping together."   
Melissa said calmly.   
Tia stared at them. She let out a breath and then stomped a way.   
"What a freak," Lila said. "Is she trying to be unpopular?"   
"Seriously," Amy said.

"Listen, Tia, about yesterday," Jessica said early Saturday morning.   
The cheerleaders were all warming up before the game that morning   
against Big Mesa. Jessica didn't think she'd be able to get through it   
watching Jeremy play, but at least she wouldn't be able to see his face.   
"I don't want to talk about it Jess," Tia said, leaning over. "I think you   
deliberately made it sound like Conner and Liz were, you know. I   
treated Conner horribly…"   
"They were still messing around behind my back," Jessica reminded her.   
"I know," Tia said. "That's not the point. Just forget it, okay?" Tia walked   
away and went to join Jade and Annie.   
Jessica sighed. Jessica could definitely tell that her's and Tia's friendship   
had reached a freeze. It was a shame because of all her new El Carro   
friends; Tia was the only one she was sure she could trust.   
"Hey, hottie," Lila said joining her. "These new uniforms are sexy," she   
said. "Melissa and Cherie have good taste."   
"Yeah, but these seem, a little too much," Jessica said shrugging. The   
new uniforms were short red, pleated skirts, with a short, red halter top   
that had 'Sweet Valley' written across the top in white.   
"At least they thought to ask for sewn in bra cups with all the jumping   
around we do," Lila said readjusting her straps.   
"Okay everyone!" Melissa called out. "Let's get into formation and do a   
last minute check."   
"Co-captain my butt," Jessica muttered. "She acts like she's the boss.   
First the uniforms, and now the pregame pep talk…"   
"Make sure everyone has their pom poms placed at least five inches   
away so that they don't slip on them. Also, make sure you stay in   
formation so don't step on someone else's. Remember, Gina you're   
spotter for the pyramid this week and Tia, you're top girl. I'm glad   
everyone remembered to wear the new uniforms, they were a big   
hit last week, and we had every guy's eyes on us. Now everyone do   
a boob check so we don't have an unnecessary peep show. Mr.   
Spader, the vice-principal, made it clear that we represent the school,   
and we have to be on our best behavior to show the adults and   
parents how mature we are. Now, let's get in formation." Several   
of the girls giggled. Jessica rolled her eyes. Mr. Spader was   
okay, but please!   
"Gooooo Gladiators!" the cheerleaders all shouted.   
"Do you think Mr. Spader is hot?" Jessica said, rolling her eyes.   
"Hell yeah!" Lila said placing her hands on her chest and rearranging   
her top. "I'd flash him any day." Jessica giggled.   
Jessica got into her place front and center. She looked out at the field   
where the Big Mesa team was standing. Her heart leapt when she   
saw #10, Jeremy's number. Then her heart froze. Talking with him was   
a generic Big Mesa cheerleader. They weren't just talking; the girl's   
body language was on full flirt mode. Jessica felt the tears start up   
again. She saw Lila stare at her. "Jess,"   
"I can't," she choked out. "I can't _cheer_."   
Lila grabbed her arm. "You have to Jess or else you let him win."   
"Ready, okay!" Melissa called out and they started in on the welcome   
cheer.  
As Jessica blindly went through the motions, she saw a couple of the   
Big Mesa cheerleaders pointing at them and laughing. Jessica turned   
beet red. Sure, the uniforms were a bit slutty…but is that how Jeremy   
saw her? Jessica's eyes flew open and she finally saw what was   
happening. Melissa had picked the uniforms, had met with Mr. Spader,   
and was leading and choosing the cheers. _Jessica_ was captain of the   
squad; she had _made_ Melissa her co-captain.  
After they finished the welcome cheer, Jessica said "Okay, now we're   
going to do the 'fight' cheer. Cherie and I are front and center."   
"We were going to the 'spirit' cheer next," Melissa pointed out.   
"That cheer is so boring," Jessica said rolling her eyes. "We'll save that   
one for the middle of the game." Melissa opened her mouth to protest,   
but Jessica jumped in. "I'm captain." Jessica detected a faint smirk on   
Lila's face. The other cheerleaders nodded and Jessica and Cherie   
moved up front. They performed the cheer flawlessly and it ended   
with Cherie and Jessica doing a triple back flip. After she had   
completed the move, she felt a surge of energy go through her body.   
It wasn't much, but it was something. _Take that Jeremy!_ She thought   
confidently.   
  
Her early game energy quickly died out and Jessica cheered and led like   
a robot, how she made it through the game, she had no idea. She thought   
Sweet Valley had won, but she wasn't sure. After the grueling game   
she trudged home. She so needed a bubble bath right now. She   
walked in the front door and was surprised to hear how quiet it was   
for a Saturday afternoon. It was so weird without Liz and Conner here.   
She crawled up the stairs and flung herself into her room, and dumped   
her pom poms on the bed. She walked into the bathroom. She   
stopped. The door between her and Liz's room was open. She   
had closed it the last time she was here. Curious, she poked her   
head into Liz's room. She always fainted. There, in the middle of   
the bed, was Elizabeth.


	16. Complicated

Author's note: Towards the end there are some flashbacks, which  
are in italics. Sorry it took me long to update, but I promise to be  
better about updating. Thanks to EVERYONE who reviewed!   
You guys are the BEST.

Jessica stared at Elizabeth in shock. Jessica knew that Elizabeth   
would come home, but she was still surprised. Plus, Elizabeth   
looked awful. Her eyes were all red and her face was tear stained.   
She also looked tired and defeated. It was hard to believe that this   
girl was her sister.  
"Liz?" Jessica said softly. She crept over to her sister's bed and   
carefully sat down next to Liz. "Are you okay? Everyone was so   
worried about you," she said comfortingly.  
Elizabeth laughed under her breath, "I bet."  
"Mom and Dad were worried sick, and I was scared to death."  
Elizabeth looked at her for the first time. "Really?"  
"Really," Jessica said truthfully. Having Liz back and all this stuff   
with Jeremy made Jessica realize that she was no longer mad at   
Liz. Liz did a stupid thing, but they were sisters and Jessica couldn't   
believe that they had let a guy come between them. Especially   
a guy like Conner.  
"So what happened?" Jessica said, clasping her hands in front of   
her. Elizabeth was sitting on the bed, her arms wrapped around   
her knees like a protective shield.  
Elizabeth bit her lip, "I don't really want to talk about it."  
"Oh," Jessica said quietly.  
"It's not that," she quickly assured her. "I will tell you everything.   
Just not now. I had Mom and Dad attacking me from all sides   
demanding answers that I just didn't have. Plus, they didn't even   
know that I was seeing Conner."  
"So how bad is it?"  
"Pretty bad," Liz admitted. "I'm grounded for two months except   
for school and the Oracle. No phone calls, no e-mail, no anything.   
I can't even drive the jeep. I have to take the bus to school for   
the next couple of months."  
"Wow," Jessica said surprised. "That's kind of harsh."  
"I deserve it," Elizabeth said bitterly. "I ran away for almost a   
week without leaving so much as a note. Mom and Dad called   
the police, and had an investigator. I think they've both aged   
about ten years."  
"What made you come home?"  
"I was going to come home, I had a ticket and everything. But   
Conner found me and he brought me home."  
Jessica raised her eyebrows.  
"It's not what you think," Elizabeth said quickly. "He only did it to   
save his own reputation. It's kind of hard to pick up girls when   
your psycho ex-girlfriend is spazed out and ran away."  
"How can you say that?" Jessica said. "Conner was really upset.   
He tore into me and was freaking out big time. The guy is crazy   
about you, Liz."  
"It doesn't matter," Elizabeth said blinking back tears. "We're over."  
"What about your baby?" Jessica pointed out.  
Elizabeth's eyes flew open. "How…how did you know? Does _  
everyone_ know?"  
"No, just Conner, Jeremy, and me. We found the pregnancy   
stick in the trash."  
Elizabeth was silent.  
"You and Conner need to be together, Liz. This is huge. Don't stay   
away from him just because of me." Jessica put her hand on Liz's   
knee. "I don't love Conner, Liz."  
Elizabeth started to cry. "He's the one who stayed away from me."  
"But everything's different now."  
"Nothing's changed." Elizabeth raised her head and looked at Jessica.   
"There is no baby."  
"You were wrong?" Jessica said confused.  
"No, I had a miscarriage. In San Jose. There is no baby anymore."  
Elizabeth started sobbing and Jessica wrapped her arms around   
her convulsing body.  
"Does Conner know?" she asked quietly.  
"No," Elizabeth said with a hint of desperation in her voice. "You   
can't tell him."  
"He deserves to know, it was his baby too. Plus, he's not stupid. He'll   
notice that you aren't gaining any weight, and that there isn't a baby   
in nine months."  
Elizabeth looked at Jessica. "I'll tell him."  
The twins sat there silently holding each other.  
"Thanks for being here for me," Elizabeth said.  
"Anytime, I love you. I'm glad you're home."  
"Me too."

Elizabeth slipped quietly into her desk. Mr. Collins looked up from   
his desk and gave her an odd look. She had been getting a lot of   
those this morning. She pulled out her old copy of _Jane Eyre_ and   
tried to read as the rest of the students slowly trickled into   
homeroom. She didn't know how she was going to make it through   
the day. If it weren't for Jessica, she would have stayed wrapped up   
in her covers. At least Jessica had forgiven her; she would never   
have been able to face SVH without her twin.  
Her mind flashed back to yesterday afternoon. Conner and her had   
driven back to Sweet Valley in silence. Conner had flashed her a   
couple of looks but she hadn't made eye contact. When he had   
dropped her off, he had tried talking to her, but she bolted. Jessica   
was right, though. She would have to talk to him eventually.  
Mr. Collins walked slowly over to her desk and silently handed   
her a folded piece of paper.  
Elizabeth unfolded it and glanced at it. She wasn't surprised. It wasn't   
like you could cut school for a week and not have anyone notice.   
She gathered up her bag and walked out of the room. She could   
see everyone in her homeroom eyes following her every step.  
She walked nervously to the principal's office. She had never been   
there except to have meetings with Mr. Cooper about a fundraiser   
or a new project. She had never gone there like this. She   
smoothed her skirt, and tried to find her courage. She had   
decided to dress conservatively this morning. She was wearing   
a white blouse, a navy cardigan, and a khaki skirt. It hadn't really   
mattered much because when she showed up at school this morning,   
everyone had ignored her, or else they had tried to stare at her   
discreetly. No one had called her a slut or a spaz. _Thank You,   
Jessica!_ She said mentally. The closest thing to an incident was   
when she passed Cherie Reese; you could tell it was killing the   
girl to keep her mouth shut.  
She walked into the office and Mrs. Hannon, the school secretary,   
directed her into Mr. Cooper's office.  
Conner McDermott was sitting there. Elizabeth had to fight the urge   
to flee. He gave her a quick glance. He looked incredible, and his   
face gave _nothing_ away. While Elizabeth was sure her face was   
bright red. She sat down in the chair next to Conner.  
Mr. Cooper cleared his throat and began. "You both know why you're   
here. Mr. McDermott, you missed school on Friday with no excuse.   
You have detention for two weeks."  
Conner silently nodded.  
Mr. Cooper shifted his gaze over to Elizabeth. She was silently dying.   
If Conner had only missed one day, she was sure to be   
suspended. Or worse, kicked out.  
"I was very upset to hear that one of this school's best students had   
run away.  
Elizabeth opened her mouth to explain, but Mr. Cooper cut her off.   
"I'm not as entirely clueless as you students would believe. I know   
what's been going on these past few weeks. Unfortunately, there's   
not much the school can do in these cases. "We have three   
guidance counselors, and I know you're close to several members   
of the faculty; you should have come to see anyone of us. Normally   
in a circumstance like this, you'd be suspended and not allowed to   
make up any missed work. But since you're one of our top students   
and you have a clean record, we've decided to be a little lenient.   
You have one week to makeup all missed assignments and tests.   
You have to see one of the guidance counselors twice a week during   
your study hall for two months. You have detention for a month. Also,   
you're on probation until you graduate. Anything else happens and   
you're suspended. Am I clear?"  
"Yes sir," Elizabeth said gratefully.  
"There's one more thing," Mr. Cooper said glancing from Conner   
to Liz. "Every year the school board sponsors a carnival in the gym   
for disadvantaged children. It's this Saturday from noon until four.   
Mr. McDermott and Miss Wakefield, you two will be in charge of   
the prize redemption booth for the entire carnival."  
Conner and Liz both nodded. "You may go."  
They quietly walked out. Elizabeth picked up her pace, hoping to   
reach her math class before Conner could say anything to her.   
She didn't know how she was going to spend four hours with him   
on Saturday.  
"Hey," Conner said, placing a hand on her shoulder. "How are you?"  
"I've been better," Elizabeth said stopping. She looked down at her   
shoes.  
"You look good," He said clearing his throat. "You have that   
whole sexy schoolgirl thing going on."  
Elizabeth turned bright red. "You're such a…tool," she hissed at   
him. "Is that all you care about?"  
"No," Conner said quickly. "It was a dumb thing to say, I don't know   
why I said it. I just…" he sounded frustrated. "I just want to talk   
to you Liz."  
"Well, I don't have anything to say to you," Elizabeth said and   
began to walk away.  
"Don't walk away from me," Conner said grabbing her arm. "We _  
have_ to talk."  
"Let go of me," she said angrily, and wrenched her arm free.   
Then she hurried away. Tears were starting to fall and she   
ducked into the bathroom. She hated herself. Conner was trying   
to help and she kept treating him like dirt. It's just that she wanted   
him so bad, and she knew that she could never have him. She   
pulled out a paper towel from the dispenser and wiped her   
eyes. Conner deserved the truth.

Conner moved back and forth slightly. The cool breeze caused   
goosebumps to pop up on his arm, but he didn't notice, or feel   
the cold. His hands lightly gripped the cool metal chains of the   
swing. Usually, coming to Tia's backyard made everything clear.   
But this time he was just drawing a blank. This had to have been   
one of the worst days in his life. He could handle detention, no   
problem. But Liz had deemed herself the ice queen and Conner  
had yet been able to reach her. He was glad that the rumors and   
the attack dogs had been silent. He had even seen Elizabeth and   
Jessica eating together at lunch.  
_"Let's go upstairs and study," Elizabeth said, pulling on his arm.  
"Why? You know we'll just end up making out," He said grinning   
at her.  
"Yeah, but we'd have some privacy. My parents and Jessica   
aren't due back for a while, but when we're together sometimes   
we loose track of time."  
_Conner snapped back to the present. He had heard the chains of the   
swing clink. He glanced over and saw Tia sitting there.  
"Hey," she said. She was wearing a large red robe, and her hair   
was all mussed.  
"Tee," he said surprised.  
"We don't have to whisper. My dad is working the late shift and   
won't be home for a couple of hours, and my mom sleeps like   
a rock."  
They sat in silence for a couple of minutes until Tia started   
talking. "This is stupid, Conner. We've been friends forever. I   
hate not talking to you. I even miss your blunt two word   
sentences."  
"Well, I miss your endless chatter," he shot back.  
"You were stupid," Tia said. "But what you did had nothing to   
do with us, I shouldn't have gotten mad for how you handle   
your relationships."  
"Yeah, but Jessica was your friend."  
"Sure," Tia said, swirling her big toe around in the dirt. She   
gave a short laugh. "The Wakefield's really screwed us up."  
Conner smirked slightly. "They certainly are addictive."  
"What?" Tia said confused.  
_Conner pulled back. "We should stop," he said breathlessly.   
They were sprawled out across her bed. Conner was   
positioned slightly on top of her. Elizabeth placed both her   
hands on his face and kissed him hard. "Don't _**_ever_**_ stop."  
_Conner glanced away.  
"You still like Liz," she said accusingly.  
"I can't stop thinking about her Tee." He kicked the dirt hard. "I   
need her."  
Tia gave him a surprised look. "You _really_ care about her,   
don't you?"  
"It's kind of complicated," Conner said, running his hands through   
his hair. "There's all this stuff."  
"What kind of stuff?" Tia said confused. "Tell me Conner."  
_Elizabeth and Conner were both breathing heavily. Neither could   
find the energy to talk just yet. Conner had collapsed on top of Liz,   
shifting his weight so he wouldn't crush her. Elizabeth lightly ran   
her fingers across his back, as Conner trembled. He kissed her   
mouth, her eyes, her neck. He never believed that a girl could   
have this kind of effect on him. Instinct told him to get up and go,   
but his body refused to leave Elizabeth's warmth. Plus, he   
didn't think he could get up, anyways.  
_"Elizabeth left because-"  
"People were saying all that stuff about you guys, I know," Tia   
said quickly.  
"There was more. Elizabeth is pregnant."  
Tia stared at him in shock. "You mean-"  
Conner jammed his hands in his pockets.  
"How did…what?"  
"You know about the birds and the bees, Tee." Conner snapped  
at her.  
"I just can't believe it."  
"I know. She won't even let me talk to her."  
Tia was speechless. She couldn't believe it. Her mind just refused   
to accept it. She glanced up, but Conner was gone. Tia wasn't too   
surprised. It was unlike Conner to spill this much.  
Tia wrapped the robe tightly around herself, and started to cry. Loud,   
gasping sobs, caused her body to shake. She loved Conner. They   
had been best friends for years, and Tia always prided herself on the   
fact that she knew Conner better than anyone. They had shared almost   
ten years of crushes, kisses, and life with each other. Tia wasn't _in_   
love with Conner, she was too devoted to Angel. But Elizabeth had   
shared something with Conner that Tia could never share with him.   
Tia had given her heart and mind, but Elizabeth had given her body.  
There was stuff that Conner couldn't share with her anymore. He   
was moving away from her so fast, Tia wasn't sure she could ever   
catch up. Tia felt like she had lost her best friend for good this time.


	17. Goodbye

"That was amazing, Jeremy!" Amanda Kellerman squealed.  
Jeremy rolled his eyes. So he had made a two-pointer. Who   
cared? He made them all the time. He and Trent and Stan   
were playing basketball outside the school. School had let out   
almost an hour ago, but they hadn't bothered to leave yet.  
Amanda was the captain of the cheerleaders, the richest girl   
in school, and she had been crushing on Jeremy since junior   
high. Jeremy had known about it, but he wasn't interested in   
her. She was shallow and snobby. Two qualities Jeremy   
couldn't stand. She was very beautiful, but that didn't matter   
much to Jeremy. Trent had hooked up with her for about   
five minutes their freshman year, and said she was an   
amazing kisser. Jeremy hadn't been convinced.  
"Amazing, Jeremy," Stan snickered, and Jeremy threw the   
ball at him. This was the best time he had had all week. He   
hadn't thought about Jessica for about half and hour. All   
week she had been on his mind. He had had to practically   
force himself not to pick up the phone and call her.  
"So have you decided to forgive that girl you were seeing?"   
Trent said, throwing the basketball and missing. Stan retrieved   
it and took a shot.  
"Yeah, Jer. We're all dying to meet her. We're beginning to   
think that you made her up, and this 'I don't want to talk to her'   
thing is just a cover."  
"She's real," Jeremy said, running his hands through his hair,   
which was damp with sweat. "I just don't know what to do. I   
mean, she basically ruined her sister's life. Plus, I think she's   
still into her ex. But I can't stop thinking about her. She's the   
most incredible girl I've ever met."  
"You should dump her," Amanda said taking a delicate sip of   
her water. "She sounds like a real loser."  
Jeremy's eyes flashed. "That's not true. You don't even know her.   
You could stand to take some lessons from her."  
Trent 's eyes widened. Jeremy didn't usually talk like that. "Yeah,   
Amanda," Trent said chidingly. "Weren't you dating the halfback   
and the defensive lineman at the same time?"  
Amanda blushed. She got up from the bench where she was   
sitting and walked over to Jeremy. "Listen, I'm sorry. I just   
don't like to see you upset like this," she batted her eyelashes   
and tugged on her black lace top.   
She then placed her fingers lightly on his forearm. She   
looked up at him and licked her lips. Jeremy sighed. She really   
was incredibly sexy; if he wanted to be honest, sexier than Jessica.   
It would be so easy just to give in. Then he saw a flash of blond   
in the corner of his eye. Jessica was standing at the edge of the   
parking lot. Jeremy's heart began to pound wildly, and he pushed   
Amanda away. He took a few steps foreword, as if in a daze.  
"Is that her?" Stan said.  
"Man," Trent said. "Why have you been avoiding her again?"  
Jeremy couldn't remember a single reason, and he felt himself   
being drawn to her. He hated himself for it.  
Jessica crossed her arms and looked away from him. "Hey," she said,   
unsure. She glanced over to where Amanda was scowling.  
"Hey, Jessica."  
She looked at him hopefully. "Can I talk to you for a minute?"  
"Jess-"  
"It's not what you think," she said hurriedly. "I'm not here to talk about us.   
It's Elizabeth . She came home a few days ago. I thought you'd want to know."  
"Wow, that's great. How is she?"  
"Pretty upset. She's in major trouble at school, with our parents."  
"At least she still has her job; it was nice of you to cover for her."  
"Thanks."  
"What about her and Conner?"  
"She won't talk to him. He's really frustrated. They both still want each other.   
It's so obvious."  
Jeremy looked away. "Are you okay with that?"  
"Of course I am," Jessica snapped. "I don't have feelings for Conner   
anymore."  
A surge of hope went through Jeremy but he shrugged it off.   
"How's the baby?"  
Jessica sighed, "I don't know if I should be telling you this, but she lost the   
baby, she had a miscarriage. Conner doesn't know yet."  
"Oh, man," Jeremy said putting his hands on his hips.  
"Yeah." They stood there in awkward silence for a minute. "Jeremy,"   
Jessica said softly. "I'm really sorry-"  
"I said I needed space."  
"Yeah, but how much? For how long?" Jessica cried. "I miss you so much."  
"I miss you too," he said softly. "But not yet…I need time."  
Jessica swallowed back tears. "Listen, I should get going. I have stuff to   
do." She turned around and walked off without saying anything else.   
Jeremy fought back the urge to call out to her. He wanted her so bad.   
Jeremy let out his breath. He would take her back. Soon. He turned around   
and went back to his friends.

Conner slammed the door to his car and strutted towards the school   
gym. He couldn't believe that he had agreed to volunteer for this lame   
carnival thing. He could be doing other things like…hanging out.   
Normally he would have taken the suspension, but he needed to be   
with Liz. He had to get her to talk to him. She couldn't keep shutting   
him out like this. Even though they weren't together, they had a baby   
to think about now. It was scary to Conner. He threw open the door   
and almost immediately turned back around. The gym was covered   
with balloons and full of different games. The speakers were blasting   
out songs from some weekday morning kiddie show. Plus, there was   
a clown. But before he could flee for the border, Mr. Copper seized him   
and led him over to the coach's office. A large sign was next to the door   
that said: 'Prizes'  
Elizabeth was sitting behind a long table full of stuffed animals, games,   
sports equipment, dolls, cars, and dozens of other toys and games.  
"When the children play the games they are rewarded tickets. They   
come in here and exchange their tickets for prizes. Everything is marked   
with how much it is worth. You have to count their tickets and give them   
their prizes. Their will be children here from three up to twelve and many   
are too young to count and you will have to help them. Most of the little   
ones will have a parent volunteer with them." Mr. Cooper finished his   
lecture and walked out leaving Conner and Elizabeth alone.  
Conner walked around behind the table and sat down next to Liz. She   
had her head buried in a thick novel.  
"So is this lame or what?" he said, trying to break the ice.  
Elizabeth looked over at him. "Don't," she said quietly, and turned back to   
her book. Conner got the message. For the first hour they sat in silence.   
They didn't have anything to do because the kids were still playing the   
games. Conner had browsed through the prizes, and wrote two songs in his   
head, when the children started to come in. Elizabeth put her book down.   
Conner had to admit she was great with the kids. She congratulated   
each one on winning so many tickets, and talked to them. _She would   
make a great mom _Conner thought to himself. A couple of the older   
girls giggled around him, but he just rolled his eyes and gave them   
their prizes. The first wave of people died down and they were alone   
again. Conner expected Liz to pick up her book again, but she didn't.  
"You're really good with them," she said softly.  
Conner looked over at her, surprised. "Really?"  
"Yeah, I know this isn't really you're thing."  
Conner snorted. "If Cooper hadn't grabbed me, I probably would have   
fled."  
"Let me guess, you saw the clown," Elizabeth said with a slight smile   
on her face.  
Conner cracked a grin, "you know me too well."  
Elizabeth blushed and looked away.  
"Are you okay?" Conner said boldly.  
Elizabeth let out a sigh. "No, not really. Things have really sucked lately.   
My parents will hardly look at me, and even though Jess and I are   
talking again, it's really weird. It's like there's this wall between us."  
Conner decided to plunge in. He placed his hand over her's lightly. His   
heart was racing. She didn't pull away. "Why did you leave?"  
"What?" She quickly pulled her hand away.  
"You heard me. Why did you leave? Was it because of the baby?"  
Elizabeth 's eyes flashed. "I left because I found out that I was seventeen   
and pregnant. My sister wouldn't talk to me, I had no friends, and the   
father of my child wouldn't even look at me."  
"You should have told me."  
"Right," Elizabeth snorted. "You would have taken off for parts unknown."  
"Like you," Conner pointed out.  
Elizabeth turned red. "Look me in the eye and tell me you wouldn't have left."  
Conner looked at her. "I was freaked big time when I found out. And sure,   
the thought did run through my brain. But then I thought about you and how   
you needed me, how the baby needed _us_."  
Elizabeth looked down and clasped her hands. "I did need you Conner. So   
bad. When Jess found out about us…I knew we needed distance, but why   
did you just drop me like that? I was_ so_ alone. With all the stuff people were   
saying about us, I needed you more than ever. I left because I didn't think   
I could face you."   
Conner was quiet for a moment. "I stayed away because I thought it was   
the right thing to do. You and Jess needed to work things out. Plus with all   
the things people were saying, I thought if we were together it would just   
make things worse. Plus, Jessica threatened me."  
Elizabeth laughed bitterly. "You're worried about what my sister would do   
to you?"  
Conner grabbed her shoulder, "No, I was worried about what she would   
do to _you_. She said if I ever got near you again she would make both our   
lives miserable. I don't give a damn about what she could do to me. I just   
didn't want her to hurt you."  
Elizabeth felt her eyes tear up. "Conner, I thought you didn't want me."  
Conner cupped her face with her hand. "I always want you. I wouldn't   
have made love to you like that if I didn't."  
She said softly, "there's something I have to tell you-" she stopped. She   
noticed that there was a group of eight year older staring at them with   
their mouths agape. She blushed wildly, and jerked away from Conner.   
The rest of the afternoon they were so busy counting tickets, consoling   
teary kids who didn't have enough to get what they wanted, and so on.   
By the time four rolled around, they were so tired they could hardly stand   
up. They folded the tables up and put them away. They walked slowly   
outside. Elizabeth stopped Conner outside the gym.  
"There's something I have to tell you about the baby," she said clasping   
her hands together, not looking at him.  
"Listen, I'm prepared to do whatever I can. I have some money saved up.   
I'll go to all your appointments with you, I'll drive you to school, and I'll take   
those classes where they show you how to breathe with you." Conner   
stopped when he saw that Liz had started to cry.  
He put his arm around her, and gently lowered her to the ground, so that   
that she was sitting next to him. "What's wrong, Lizzie?"  
"There is no baby Conner." She was sobbing now. Gut wrenching sobs   
which were like a spike through his heart.  
"What?" he said confused.  
"When you came to pick me up at the hospital, I wasn't there for an   
appointment," she said between sobs. "I had a miscarriage. I lost the   
baby; there's wasn't anything we could do…"  
Conner held her as she cried. He gently ran his fingers through her hair.   
"It's okay Liz. As long as you're okay."  
"I'm so sorry," she cried.  
They sat there holding onto each other. A while later, Liz had calmed   
down enough so they could talk. "I don't know why I'm so upset.   
Realistically, we could never have been able to take care of it. We're not   
done with school, we don't have enough money. We're just way too   
young. But that baby was part of me, part of _us, _It was_ ours_ and-"  
"You wish we still had it, I know," Conner said. "But I know I'm not   
ready to be a dad yet."  
Elizabeth smiled. She shrugged herself out of Conner's embrace.   
Conner felt cold and incomplete without her there next to him. "I guess   
that's that. Now there's nothing left between us. You're now free of me and   
can go on with you life."  
"How the _hell_ can you say that?" Conner said angrily.  
Elizabeth looked away from him, sadly. "There's nothing left for us, Con.   
We can't make it work. We've screwed up to bad." Conner opened his   
mouth to protest, but Elizabeth placed a finger on his lips. That touch   
sent a surge of electricity through his body. "I'll always care about you,   
but I don't think we're right for each other. I don't think we ever were.   
I changed so much this year. Sneaking around, lying, and changing my   
look. You never met the real me, and the person I am now…I hate that   
you had to know her." She leaned over and kissed him lightly on the lips.  
"Goodbye Conner."


	18. Don't Let Go

It was a quiet, late afternoon when Jessica walked slowly down the   
path. She clutched a flower tightly in her fist. She hated this place,   
hated that she had to come here when she was only seventeen. Hated that the   
guy that was her soul mate, had to spend his life here. She hadn't been   
here in a while. Between the earthquake and her crazy drama of a life,   
she had put off her visit. As she walked the narrow paths, she thought   
about how simple things used to be. Back when Elizabeth and Todd were   
acting out the role of a boring married couple, when her and Lila wasted   
away their weekends at the mall and the beach. When everyone was   
friends with everyone else. She was jolted from her thoughts when she reached   
a small, simple headstone. She kneeled down and lightly placed her   
fingers on the cool marble. "Hello, Sam," she said between tears. She   
lightly traced the letters that spelled out the name of Sam Woodruff, her   
dead boyfriend. She placed the single yellow rose at the front of  
the headstone. Sam had always brought her yellow roses because they   
had reminded him of her hair.   
"I've missed you so much," she said softly. "I've needed you so much,   
baby. You always knew how to make me feel better and happier."  
She sat quietly for a few minutes. "You would be so disappointed in   
me…you always hated it when I went around spreading gossip and being a   
snob. But I was always so much better when you were around. I've been   
horrible. But, Liz and I are working things out…I'm trying to be better for   
you," she said quietly.   
"I've met someone, his name is Jeremy Aames. You'd like him. He's a   
really nice guy. He's kind of like you, actually," she said smiling   
slightly. "But I really blew things with him. He won't even look at me."  
Jessica started cry. "I love him Sam. But I wish you were here loving   
me…everything is so different and I _hate_ it. Why did you have to leave   
me all by myself?"  
Jessica sat there sobbing. A little while later she wiped her eyes.   
"Goodbye, Sam," she said softly. "I will always love you, but I have to   
go." She stood up and brushed herself off. She wouldn't be visiting   
Sam for a while. For too long this place had been a refuge, and Sam had   
been a safety net, protecting her from getting too close or hurt. She   
needed to put things in the past. This was the present, and tomorrow was   
something exciting. Maybe Jeremy and her would never get back together,   
but that was okay. Jessica knew she would survive. Crying had let   
everything out, and she felt better.  
She walked quickly back to the jeep. She had to swing by Andy's to pick   
up Tia, who, to Jessica, seemed to live there. Then they were going to   
head over to Lila's for a sleepover. Jessica couldn't think of a better   
way to spend a Saturday night.  
Jessica smiled, reapplied her lipstick, and started the jeep.  
  
_Why do I torture myself like this?_ Elizabeth wondered, burying her   
face in the pillow on the couch. It was the night that she had set Conner   
free. She was allowing him to move on with his life, which was which   
she needed to do, big time. However, she had come home and cried for   
about an hour. Then she had put her pajamas on and come downstairs to watch   
_Dirty Dancing_. She was to the part when Patrick Swazye had been fired,   
and was telling Jennifer Grey that it could never work between the two   
of them, that they were too different. Liz had dissolved into tears   
because she had done the same thing to Conner. And Elizabeth knew that   
there was no group dance waiting for the two of them at the end.   
"Patrick Swazye is quite the stud, isn't he," Mrs. Wakefield said   
softly, sitting next to Elizabeth.  
"_Mom!_" Elizabeth said, laughing through her tears.  
"What? He's older than me," she said pausing the movie.   
"But it's still gross," Elizabeth said. "He's so young in this," she   
said waving her hand. She fell silent. Things had been so tense between   
her and her parents. They hadn't known what to say to her, and she had   
refused to tell them what happened.   
"Are you okay, sweetie?" Mrs. Wakefield said.  
"Oh, mom," Elizabeth said, crawling into her mother's arms. She started   
to cry, and Mrs. Wakefield wrapped her arms around her daughter.   
"What's wrong?" she asked gently.   
"Everything…I've messed things up so bad." Elizabeth cried.  
"You know you can tell me anything Liz. I love you no matter what   
happens. You can't get rid of me, no matter how hard you try," she said   
soothingly.  
Elizabeth sat up and rested her head on her mom's shoulder. "There's so   
much to tell…"  
"I'm willing to listen."  
"You know Conner?"  
"That cute musician that stayed with us?" she said smiling.   
"Yeah," Elizabeth said, blushing a little.   
"Did you two like each other?"  
"Yeah, but it was a little bit more messed up than that. Jessica and   
him were actually seeing each other."  
Mrs. Wakefield raised her eyebrows. "Really? Jess doesn't usually fall   
for guys like him."  
"I know, but I had a crush on Conner as well, and it turns out he   
wasn't serious about Jessica…"  
"But he liked you, not her?" Mrs. Wakefield said, smoothing down Liz's   
hair.  
"Yeah, we started seeing each other, behind Jessica's back, and of   
course she found and flipped."  
"You know that you should have talked with her first," Mrs. Wakefield   
said gently.   
"Yeah, I wish I had. But that's not the worst. Conner wouldn't have   
anything to do with me, everyone at school found out, and they started   
calling me these awful names, and no one would have anything to do with   
me."  
"Even Maria and Enid?"  
"Even them. It got to be that school was comparable to daily torture   
and I couldn't take it anymore,"  
"So you ran away, she said. Elizabeth nodded. "Oh sweetie," she said as   
Elizabeth started crying again. "You know you could have come to your   
father and me…"  
"What could you have done? You guys always told me to fight my own   
battles. But things are getting better. Jess told people that the stuff   
wasn't true, and people are being friendly again."  
"And Conner?" Mrs. Wakefield prodded gently.   
"I've been kind of blowing him off," Elizabeth admitted. "I told him   
this afternoon that things were done between us. He'd been acting nice to   
me, and I didn't want him to feel like he owed me anything."  
"Do you think he might still like you?"   
"No," Elizabeth said firmly. He was the one who broke up with me."  
Mrs. Wakefield ran her fingers through her daughter's hair. "It's okay   
if you still like him."  
Elizabeth felt a fresh wave of tears come on. "I love him," she blurted   
out. "But I can't force him to be with me if he doesn't want to."  
"You're really serious about this boy?"  
Elizabeth nodded.   
"Were you this serious about him when he was living here?" her mom   
asked.   
Again, she nodded.   
"Did you two…sleep together?" Mrs. Wakefield said closing her eyes.  
Elizabeth didn't answer she just looked down.  
"Oh, baby," she said. "Were you careful?"  
"Yes," Elizabeth lied.   
"You know what you did was wrong, and that I'm very disappointed in   
you. I figured you would use better judgment."  
"I'm so sorry," Elizabeth said quietly. "It was a mistake and we only   
did it the once."  
"Believe me, I understand sweetie. I've met guys like Conner McDermott   
before."  
Elizabeth started to cry again. "Please don't me angry with me, mommy,"   
she cried, as she buried her head in her mom's lap.  
Mrs. Wakefield hugged her daughter and tried to soothe her. She glanced   
down at Elizabeth helplessly.  
  
Conner slammed the door to the Mustang. After sitting in the school   
parking lot for an hour after the stupid carnival, he decided to go back   
to Andy's. His mood sank even further when he saw the jeep in the   
driveway. He knew it was Jessica's because Elizabeth had never even talked to   
Andy before. He stormed in the house hoping to retreat to Andy's room   
before he was noticed.  
"Hey Conner," Andy called from the kitchen. _Busted_.  
"Hey," Conner grunted towards Andy. He reminded himself to hurt Andy   
later because sitting at the kitchen table were both Jessica and Tia.   
"Hey," Jessica said quietly.  
"So, how did it go? You and Liz back together?" Andy said smiling.  
"No," Conner snapped.  
He noted the look of relief on Tia's face, and the look of   
disappointment on Jessica's.   
He stalked to the fridge and pulled out and apple, and bit into it,   
hard.   
"So, you going to Lila's party next weekend?" Jessica asked Andy.  
"I'm coming with Angel," Tia cut in.  
"I'm going with Cherie," Andy supplied.  
Jess and Tia looked at him, stupefied. "Really?" Jessica finally   
asked.  
"Hey, we red heads have to stick together," Andy joked. "Plus, I think   
she wanted to make Conner jealous," he said shooting Conner a look.  
"Why doesn't she go with Evan?" Tia said.   
"Hey!" Andy said offended. "Evan already has a date," he said shooting   
Jess a look.  
"No way!" Tia exclaimed.  
"Hey, I figured with Jeremy still mad, I might as well ask someone   
else."  
"Yeah, have to work your way through all my friends," Conner said   
snidely.  
Jessica flashed with anger, but didn't say anything.  
"Cherie's lame," Conner continued. "If I wanted her, I would have had   
her ages ago."  
"Do you think maybe she likes me?" Andy said hopefully. "I   
haven't been on a date in months."  
"A year," Tia supplied. "No. Cherie will make out with anyone.   
She's a slut…like Liz."  
Conner slammed his fist down. "Shut up!!"  
"Sorry," Tia said quietly "But it's true. She seduced you, and now   
she's in trouble."  
Andy's eyes widened. "You...and _Liz_?"  
"Damn you, Tia. She lost the baby."  
"Wait" Andy interjected. "Liz is, was, _pregnant_?"  
Tia paled. Conner ran his hands through his hair. "I'm outta here."  
He marched off down the hall.  
"Conner stop." It was Jessica.   
He stopped. "What the hell do you want?"  
"Listen, I'm sorry about things with you and Liz. I really am. I'll   
talk to Tia…about, you know."  
"Okay." Conner shoved his hands in his pocket.   
"I want us to be friends. I don't still want you or anything, and I   
think you and Liz need to be together."   
Conner left out a short laugh. "She wants nothing to do with me."  
"That's not true. She loves you Conner. You'd have to be blind not to   
notice."  
Conner was quiet.  
"You'd also have to be blind not to notice that you love her."  
Conner looked at her startled. It was true. He was madly in love with   
Elizabeth Wakefield. It took Jessica to make him realize that.   
"Don't let her go," Jessica said quietly.   
"You know, you're aren't that bad, Wakefield."  
Jessica gave a small laugh. "Who would have thought it?"


	19. Carefully Constructed Walls

Thanks to everyone who has reviewed. You guys are awesome!!  
  
As Conner walked out of Andy's house, he noticed that it had started to  
rain hard. He scowled and glanced at his watch. It was after eleven. He  
probably should forget about going to see Liz tonight, her parents were  
probably asleep, and who knows _what_ Liz had told them, if anything.  
But he had to see her tonight; he had to tell her…that he loved her.  
Conner could hardly believe it himself. He had spent so much of his life  
building a wall around himself, not letting anyone close. Then the person  
he had least expected had managed to break down those carefully  
constructed walls, and, he admitted, he hadn't done much to stop her.  
He ran quickly to his car, but he still got drenched. He hoped that Liz  
had a soft spot for drowned rats. He jammed the keys into the ignition,  
and paused. What the hell was he even going to say to her.  
_I know you dumped me this afternoon, and I know our unborn baby died,  
but, hey, I love you and want to date you?_ Conner gave a short laugh.  
He could just imagine what she'd say to _that_ irresistible offer.  
Just as Conner was going to start the engine, the passenger door flew  
open, and Tia, looking just as wet as Conner, flung herself in the  
passenger seat.  
"I'm not your chauffer service," Conner snapped, fed up with the  
interruptions.  
"I know," Tia snapped back. She wrung her hair out, getting water all  
over the interior.  
"Are you just trying to flood my car or do you have something to say?"  
he said sarcastically.  
Tia rolled her eyes. "I'm _trying_ to piss you off…obviously it's  
working," she said raising an eyebrow.  
Conner gave a short laugh.  
Tia smiled. "See? That's what I want. To make you laugh. What's  
happened to us Conner? We used to tell each other everything, or at least, I  
used to tell you everything. I miss you," she said quickly.  
Conner stared at her. "I believe it started when you called my  
girlfriend, what was it, 'the ultimate bh slut of SVH'" Conner said shortly.  
Tia blushed. "Listen, I'm sorry, okay."  
"I'm not the one you should be apologizing too," Conner pointed out.  
"I know," Tia said, looking out the window. "I fell really bad. From  
what I've seen, she's a really nice girl, and I feel awful. I'm  
just…jealous, I guess."  
"You want me too?" Conner said smirking.  
"No!" Tia exclaimed, frustrated. "I just…you always went from girl to  
girl, never really opening yourself to any of them. I was always the one  
you told stuff too. Now with Liz it was like you weren't talking to me  
anymore."  
"You don't give me all the gory details of you and Angel," Conner said.  
"I know," Tia said rolling her eyes. "But I just felt like you've shut  
me out completely."  
Conner sighed. "There's some stuff between Liz and I that is private,"  
he agreed. "But the last thing I want to do is shut you out, Tee.  
You're still the coolest girl I know."  
Tia smiled. "Thanks, I promise not to go all psycho about you and Liz,"  
Tia threw him an evil look. "Since I got you to open up, answer me  
this. Do you love Liz? I've never seen you this hung up on a girl  
before. She's got you acting like a love sick puppy."  
"I'm not a love sick puppy," Conner growled. "And mind your own damn  
business," he said gruffly.  
"I think you do," Tia said teasingly.  
"Get out," he snapped, teasingly. Tia got out. "I'll drop it…for now."  
She said smiling at him.  
Conner grumbled under his breath and backed out of the driveway. But he  
smiled slightly, it was good to have Tia back. He flipped on the radio,  
and the lyrics caught his attention:  
  
_And it's been awhile  
Since I've seen the way the candle lights your face  
And it's been awhile  
But I can still remember just the way you taste  
_  
His smiled broadened as he pulled into the Wakefield's driveway. He  
turned his car off, and stepped out. It was still pouring and he shivered  
slightly. He glanced at the house and noticed it was dark. He quickly  
ruled out knocking the door. He crept around to the back of the house to  
where Liz's window was. He knew he was slightly insane as he stared up  
at the dark window. But he was determined. He couldn't sleep another  
night without knowing that Elizabeth was his again. He picked up a pebble  
and threw it.  
  
Elizabeth flipped off her lamp next to her bed. She had tried reading  
for a while after her talk with her mom. She smiled slightly. Even  
though her relationship with her parents was far from normal, she felt like  
she had made progress tonight. She hadn't meant to tell her mom about  
her and Conner sleeping together. She could just imagine the horrible  
images her mom had conjured up. She knew her mom was disappointed in her;  
Elizabeth was disappointed with herself. She had never meant to jump  
into bed with Conner so quickly. She still didn't understand this  
powerful attraction she felt with Conner. _Well, it's one sided. Conner  
doesn't love you_. Her smile quickly disappeared, and she snuggled into her  
covers. She still remembered the pain from that day when she had told  
Conner she loved him and he had said nothing in return. She buried her  
head in her pillow, to stop the tears from coming. She didn't want to cry  
again.  
**_TAP_**  
Elizabeth shot up in bed. She had heard a small bang against her  
window. She stood up slowly and walked over to window. It was probably just a  
bird hitting it, but she looked out curiously.  
The sight that greeted her couldn't have surprised her more. Conner was  
standing in their lawn, completely soaked. She opened her window. "Are  
you completely mad?" she hissed loudly. She slammed it shut. She jammed  
her slippers on and flew downstairs, through the kitchen, out onto the  
deck. She reached Conner, soaked to the bone.  
"Are you crazy?" she shouted.  
"Yeah," Conner said, smiling lopsidedly. "But, then, you already knew that."  
"What are you doing?" she said, wrapping her arms around her shivering  
body.  
"Isn't it obvious," he said taking her hands away from her chest. "I love you."  
"_What_?" Elizabeth said, not believing what she had just heard.  
"I love you," Conner said. "I am so in love with you that it scares me," he  
said hoarsely.  
Elizabeth stared at him, shocked. Then a slow smile spread across her  
face. She leaned towards him and caught his lips in a searing kiss. It was so  
intense, she felt like her whole body would burst into flames.  
Elizabeth pulled away, gasping for breath. "It's raining," she said  
stupidly.  
"I'd forgotten," Conner said, still holding her hands. He never  
wanted to let go of her.  
"Come on," Liz pulled him to the house.  
They went up to her room quietly.  
"What about your parents?" Conner asked her.  
"They have one of those air conditioners in their window, and they  
always have it on full blast. They won't be able to hear much of anything,"  
she said, rummaging around in the hall closet. She pulled out a couple  
of towels. They went into her room. Liz pulled out a pair of sweats  
from her closet. "You left them here in the wash," she explained and  
handed them to him along with a towel. He went into the bathroom; he could  
hear Elizabeth blow drying her hair in her room. He quickly shed his  
wet clothes and put them in the shower. He slipped into the loose  
sweats.  
He walked back into Elizabeth's room. She was putting her dryer away.  
"I'm sorry, but I don't have any shirts that would fit you except this  
one," she said gesturing to the oversize SVU shirt she was wearing.  
He flopped down onto her bed. Elizabeth walked into the bathroom, and  
emerged a few minutes later wrapped in a towel. Conner's breath caught  
in his throat. She pulled open her dresser and picked out some clothes,  
with her back to Conner she pulled a pair of periwinkle pajama pants on  
under the towel, then she quickly shed the towel. Conner took in the  
delicate curve of her back, until she pulled a periwinkle tanktop on.  
Then she sat down next to Conner. "You didn't have to," she said  
quietly.  
"Didn't have to do what?" Conner asked, confused.  
"Say that you loved me."  
"Of course I didn't have to," Conner said angrily. "You think I was  
just trying to make you feel better?" Conner grabbed her shoulders  
roughly. "I have _never_ told a girl that I loved her before. I told you it  
because…you're an idiot."  
"Excuse me?" Elizabeth snapped.  
"What the hell was that this afternoon?" Conner spit out.  
"I knew you didn't want me," Elizabeth hissed back. "I didn't want you to  
feel obligated to me…you know, because of the baby."  
"You don't have the slightest clue what I want, and I never felt  
obligated to you, I don't feel obligated to anyone. Did it ever occur to you that  
I might like you?"  
Elizabeth was silent. "Then why did you break up with me?"  
"Why do you think? Your relationship to your sister is more important  
then your relationship to me, I wanted you to fix things with Jess and  
there's no way you could have done that while still with me."  
"I know that. But why did you have to drop me cold?" she said tears  
forming. "I thought…I thought you didn't love me."  
Conner could see that she was fighting tears. He wrapped an arm around  
her, and pulled her to his bare chest. "You really thought that?" he  
said throatily. "Is that why you left?"  
Elizabeth nodded. "I thought you hated me, that you wanted nothing to  
do with me."  
"I loved you then, I was just to stupid to realize it."  
"And I was just to stupid to see it," Elizabeth said smiling.  
"I love you," Conner said into her hair.  
Elizabeth looked up at him. "I love you too."  
Conner gently placed her back across the pillows. "I should go, it's  
pretty late." He got up and headed for the door.  
"Don't," Elizabeth said softly. "Please…can you just, stay?"  
Conner turned back around. He raised his eyebrows, and he felt a  
tightening in his stomach.  
He quietly walked towards her, and climbed into the bed next to her.  
"Can you just sleep with me? Not together together, you know? We can't  
be together like that again…not for a while, just lay with me."  
Conner smiled down at her. "I know, and it's okay. I was lucky just to have  
you once."  
"I know you're probably used to it."  
"What? Lots of sex?" Elizabeth blushed. "I'm going to tell you a  
secret, you were my first," he whispered into her ears.  
Elizabeth leaned over and kissed him. "I love you, Conner McDermott."  
She flicked the light off, and snuggled next to Conner. Conner wrapped  
his arms around her and closed his eyes. Him and Liz were back  
together. He quickly realized that now that he had said those three words  
everything was different. He would be her boyfriend. He would have to walk  
her to class, call her, take her on dates…and for the first time in  
Conner's life that didn't seem like such a bad thing.


	20. Crazy About You

Only one more chapter left!!!

"Ummm," Elizabeth moaned in her sleep. She was having a dream where  
Conner was doing delicious things to her neck. Her eyes fluttered open,  
and she squinted in the morning sunlight. She had forgotten to close her  
blinds last night.  
Then she realized it wasn't a dream, Conner _was_ behind her doing delicious  
things to her neck. He didn't know she was awake yet, and she lay there  
quietly, enjoying the warmth of his strong body. The way they were  
positioned, Conner's body was spooning her body. She began to grow  
restless; she wanted to see Conner's face so this whole night wouldn't  
just have been some wonderful dream. She rolled over, and gave  
Conner a small smile.  
"Morning," he said with a grin, that even the king of cool couldn't hide.  
She ran her nails gently down his bare chest, teasing him.  
He groaned, "I should have known you'd be sexy in the morning as well."  
"Sexy?" Elizabeth said giggling. "I have bed head."  
"Cute bed head," Conner corrected.  
"So do you," Elizabeth said touching his hair, which was sticking up in  
every direction.  
She stretched her body and said, "This is how every morning should  
start."  
"And how every night should end," Conner added. He stared at her  
for a moment. He gently brushed a loose strand of her hair away from  
her face. "I meant every thing I said last night," he murmured softly. He  
leaned in a kissed her. As the kiss became more insistent, Conner  
positioned himself over top of Liz. Elizabeth pulled back breathless,  
when she felt Conner's hand slide up the back of her top. "This  
probably isn't the best place to do this."  
"I should probably be going," Conner said, making no move to get  
up. "It's seven and your parents will probably be up soon. Also,  
I parked my car in your driveway."  
Elizabeth quickly got up, and went into the bathroom.  
"Here," she said, throwing his clothes at him. "My parents will be  
up any minute, and I'm grounded."  
Conner hurriedly got dressed, and they both snuck quietly down  
the stairs. Elizabeth stepped out onto the front porch.  
"See you at school," he said giving her a quick kiss.  
He hurried to his car, and pulled out.  
Mrs. Wakefield appeared at the door, as Conner stopped at the  
end of the street. "Sweetie, what are you doing out here so early?"  
"Oh," Elizabeth said, whipping around, clearly startled. "I just woke  
up…and before I got dressed I wanted to see how warm it was  
outside."  
Mrs. Wakefield nodded. "Why don't you come in and I'll whip up  
some pancakes."  
Elizabeth nodded, and gave a smile. "That would be nice."  
  
"You look suspiciously happy," Stan commented, that morning.  
Jeremy slammed his locker shut. "Yeah, duh! It's because we  
annihilated Bridgewater on Friday night."  
"No," Trent cut in. "We won last week and you weren't this happy.  
Come one, what gives?" Suddenly Trent burst out laughing.  
"Jeremy has a new babe."  
"No, I don't," Jeremy, said laughing.  
"Maybe it was Amanda," Stand said slyly.  
Jeremy gave Stan a light punch on the shoulder. "Fine, I'll spill. I'm  
ready to take Jessica back."  
"Finally," Trent said rolling his eyes. "A girl that hot, and one you  
are so obviously in love with…we were wondering what was  
taking you so long."  
"Aren't you wondering if she's moved on?" Stan said worried. "I  
mean, you've been stringing her along for more than two weeks."  
"Hey, on Friday, she looked like she still had the hots for our man,"  
Trent said.  
"I hope so," Jeremy said. "I'm not sure exactly how I'm going to  
do it…"  
"Jeremy?" a voice said behind them.  
Jeremy, Trent, and Stan all turned around. Stan and Trent broke  
into huge smiles.  
"Hey, Amanda," Trent said. "You cheerleaders were really hot  
this weekend."  
"Thanks," Amanda said, giving Trent a flirty smile.  
"Kevin sure thought so," Stan added.  
Amanda flipped her long black hair. "Whatever."  
Jeremy shifted in place uncomfortably. "Hey," he mumbled.  
"Hey Jeremy," she said softy. "Can I talk to you for a minute?"  
"Sure, " he said ignoring Trent and Stan's looks.  
"In private," she said pointedly.  
"Fine," he sighed.  
"See you later, Jer," Trent said with a huge grin.  
"What is it," he asked her warily.  
She didn't answer, and pulled him into the empty sports meeting  
room at the end of the hall.  
Jeremy stared at her confused. "Listen, there's this party at a girl  
from the country club named Lila Fowler this Friday. She throws  
awesome parties. I wanted to know if you wanted to go with  
me," she said hopefully.  
Jeremy opened his mouth to say no, but then he shut it. He knew  
Lila was Jessica's best friend, which meant that Jessica would  
be there. If he said yes, then he'd have a way of seeing Jessica.  
Even if he went with Amanda it didn't mean he had to spend  
the whole evening with her. And, truth me told, even though  
Amanda was a snob, she wasn't that bad. He had known her  
since they were both kids. She had always decorated his  
locker before big games, and she was always responsible  
for the 'Jeremy cheer' at the games.  
"Sure," he finally said.  
She looked surprised...and happy. "Wow...that's great!"  
She turned to leave. "Why did you want to talk to be in here?"  
Jeremy said raising his eyebrows.  
"Oh," she blushed. "I was afraid you'd say no. I didn't want  
to be embarrassed. You know, you're not very nice to me."  
Jeremy opened his mouth to protest. "It's okay," she  
assured him. "I enjoy being a bh. I know a lot of people  
see me that way. They're just jealous because I'm so rich,  
a cheerleader, and I'm hot, too." She added as an after thought.  
Jeremy laughed. "You sure are one hell of a woman."  
"Damn right," she shot back.  
"See you Friday," he said, walking out.  
"You better pick me up Jeremy Aames!" she called back.  
  
Elizabeth shoved her history book into her locker. She  
had just gone to see Mr. Dobbins, her history teacher, to turn  
in her paper that had been due while she had been...absent.  
She sighed. She only had a few make up assignments and  
tests left. That was the only good thing about being grounded.  
It gave her plenty of time to catch up. Other than that, grounding  
was a major pain. And she still had a month and a half left.  
A month and an half of only seeing Conner at school.  
She knew she deserved her punishment...but did it have to be  
so long?  
She was so deep in thought, that when Conner's hands slid into  
her back pockets, she jumped about a foot.  
"Conner!" she yelped. "_What are you doing_?"  
"Good morning, Liz," he drawled. She sighed. She could never  
stay angry at him long when he looked at her like that.  
"Hey," she said smiling. "What are you doing here so early?"  
"Making up my last test," he said.  
"Lucky," she sighed. "I still have three left."  
"That's what you get when you break school rules," Conner  
said mockingly.  
"Like you've been such a good boy," Liz said smirking.  
"I never said I was," Conner said gravelly. He placed his hands  
on her hips, and started moving them slowly down her hips.  
"Good," Elizabeth choked out, has his hands caressed the top  
of her thighs.  
"Too bad you can't come over tonight," he whispered in her ear.  
"Yeah," she said grabbing his shoulders.  
"Cut study hall," Conner whispered.  
"What?"  
"I have gym sixth period. We're doing..._badminton_. There's no  
way I'm doing that."  
Conner smirked. "And the auditorium is empty sixth period..."  
he trailed off.  
"Ummm," Elizabeth said, placing a hand on his cheek.  
"Is that a yes?" Conner asked.  
She gave him a deep kiss.  
"Yes." Elizabeth paused. "I told my mom this morning that we  
got back together, she was worried at first because she  
thought I snuck out, but I told her we got back together  
yesterday during school. But...she wants you to come to dinner  
on Friday."  
Conner pulled back. "Why? She's eaten dinner with me before."  
"I know, but you weren't my boyfriend back then."  
Elizabeth bit her lip. "But It's worse." Conner raised an eyebrow.  
"I kind of told her that we...you know."  
Elizabeth paused. "You do know, right?"  
"What?" Conner shouted. Several people gave them weird looks,  
so Conner lowered his voice, and repeated "What the hell were  
you thinking, Elizabeth?"  
"I didn't mean to," she hissed.  
Conner closed his eyes, and sighed. "What did she do to you?"  
"Well, she was going to ground me, but she felt bad because  
I'm already grounded forever. So, every Saturday for two months  
I have to wash all the cars, cut the grass, weed the garden, and  
I have to help my dad repaint the shed."  
"I can't look at your mom, let alone sit at a meal. I'm the guy who  
ruined her daughter." Elizabeth pouted, and stuck out her lip.  
Conner sighed. "Fine! But you owe me big time Wakefield."  
Elizabeth started nipping at his neck. "No problem."  
Conner smirked. "See ya," Elizabeth looked at him questionly. "I  
have to get Andy to cover for me," he explained. He turned and  
walked down the hall.  
Elizabeth's eyes followed him...well, to be honest, they followed  
his butt.  
"You know he doesn't even have to exercise or anything" a voice  
said behind her.  
Elizabeth turned around and saw Tia standing there.  
"Oh, hey, Tia," Elizabeth said nervously.  
Tia shifted uncomfortably. "Listen, there's no easy way to say this,  
so I'll just say it. I'm sorry. I didn't really spread those rumors  
about you, but I believed them, and I didn't do anything to stop them,  
either. I also said some things about you to Conner, and it wasn't really  
fair because I don't really know you."  
Elizabeth stared at her, apart from Jessica, none of Jess's friends  
had apologized to her, and she hadn't expected them to. "Thanks,"  
Elizabeth said quietly. "I'm glad you said something, because I  
know Conner really admires you."  
"Yeah, he likes you too," Tia said grinning coyly. "Actually, the reason  
I acted like that was because I was jealous of you."  
"Me?" Elizabeth laughed "Why?"  
"Because Conner likes you, in a way he can never like me...not that  
I want him too," Tia said quickly. "He shares stuff with you that I know  
he'll never tell me."  
"But you know him better than anyone," Elizabeth argued. "I was  
actually jealous of _you_ because you've known him forever, and  
know way more about him then I'll ever know."  
"Yeah...call it even?" Tia laughed.  
"Sure," Elizabeth said smiling.  
"I should have listened to Conner in the first place," Tia said  
shaking her head. "Melissa's such a bh. But I guess I  
just liked being cool and popular."  
"Melissa?"  
"Yeah, she's mostly the one who instigated the whole thing.  
She's always been like that, she picks a target, then suddenly,  
she's destroyed the poor girl. Usually she goes after people  
who try to make a move on Will. But...this time I thought you  
deserved it."  
"Maybe I did," Elizabeth said quietly.  
"No," Tia assured her. "You seem really nice, and Conner was  
always defending you, that's when I knew you were different.  
Listen, do you want to go out sometime? There's this really great  
place called Rafferty's."  
"I'd love to," Elizabeth said, looking at the ground. "But I'm  
grounded for a long time."  
"Oh," Tia said.  
"Why don't you eat lunch with my friends Enid and Maria, and I.  
There really nice."  
"Sure," Tia said smiling. "I could stand to meet some nice people!"

"Hey," Evan said, as Jessica climbed into his vintage Trans Am.  
"Hi, Evan!" she said brightly. Evan was really nice (it was hard to  
believe he was Conner's friend), but he wasn't the one Jess _really  
_wanted to be going with. She hated to admit it, but she was slightly  
embarrassed to bring Evan. Save Cherie, all her friends were going  
with their popular jock boyfriends. Evan was cute in a laid back,  
grungy kind of way. His black shaggy hair had at least been combed.  
He was the kind of guy Maria would date, Jessica concluded.  
"So, are you ready?" he asked teasingly.  
"What? Oh," she said laughing. She had dashed outside before Evan  
could even get out of the car to come to the door. "No, it's just that my  
mom and dad invited Conner over for dinner, and Liz is slightly psycho.  
Evan's eyes widened, and then he burst into laughter.  
"Careful!" Jessica gasped. Evan had almost swerved into the other lane.  
"Are you serious? Man, I wish I could witness that painful and hilarious  
event."  
"Turn here," Jessica instructed. Evan parked on the street, and they  
walked up to the house. Evan's eyes widened. The butler let them in.  
"Thanks for coming," Lila said, smiling at Jessica and Evan.  
"Wow," Evan said, gazing into the large room where Lila was having the  
party. "This place is incredible."  
"Thanks," Lila said, taking in the compliment. "The food and the band  
will be inside, but since it's so nice out, the party is also on the deck."  
"The band?" Jessica said.  
"Yeah, the Droids are playing," Lila said with a wave of her hand.  
"Cool, I haven't heard them in forever," Jessica exclaimed. "Hey Li,  
who's _your_ date?" Jessica said teasingly.  
Lila blushed. "Uh, Bruce."  
"Bruce _Patman_?" Jessica said incredulously.  
"Yeah," Lila shot back. "He's in town for the weekend."  
Jessica shook her head, disappointedly. "Why Lila Fowler. He's  
only a collage freshman? What happened to 'a collage sophomore  
is the absolute minimum'?" Jessica said wagging a finger at Lila.  
"Shut up, have fun at my daddy's expense account."  
Jessica and Evan walked on. "Are you two always like this?"  
Jessica thought for a minute. "Worse." As they weaved through  
the crowd, they said hello to many of their friends. They saw Tia  
and Angel dancing. Andy was doing some weird version of the  
twist while Cherie danced beside him in awkward embarrassment.  
She saw Gina and Todd dancing, Amy and Josh, and Melissa and  
Will.  
"If it isn't the lovely and vile Jessica Wakefield," a mocking voice  
said behind her.  
Jessica and Evan turned around to see Bruce Patman standing  
there.  
"Decided to grace us with your presence? I thought we were too  
lame for your big college ego," Jessica said bitingly.  
"Temper, Jessica. Your attitude doesn't become you. Admit it,  
Wakefield. You missed me."  
"Yeah, right. But I admit it is nice to see some of the old blood here."  
"Yeah," Bruce said looking around. "I hardly know anyone." Bruce  
glanced at Evan as he said this. "Like, where is Ken?"  
"After Olivia died, he just hasn't been the same. He doesn't talk to  
anyone, he won't play football, and he never comes to parties  
anymore," she explained.  
Bruce suddenly caught eye of Cherie, or to be honest, Cherie's low-cut  
halter dress. He smirked when he saw her dancing with Andy,  
and suddenly strolled to Cherie to 'rescue' her. Jessica smirked.  
As they made their way to the food table, Jessica saw Emily Mayer  
and Dana Larson setting up the band.  
"Hey Dana!" Jessica said, giving Dana a hug.  
"Hey," she said smiling. Her hair had hot pink streaks in it this week.  
"You look great Jess."  
"Thanks." Jessica knew she looked great. She was wearing an ice  
blue sundress that perfectly set off her eyes. "I haven't heard you  
guys in forever, you used to play at everything!"  
"Yeah," Dana said, rolling her eyes. "We did, until Mr. I think I'm so  
hot with my guitar and tight t-shirt McDermott stole our audience.  
Thankfully he thinks he's too cool to make lowly appearances at  
parties."  
"And he wasn't invited," Jessica supplied causing Dana to laugh.  
"Jess, I'm going to get something to drink. Do you want something?"  
Evan asked.  
"Sure, some ginger ale, thanks," Jessica said smiling.  
"He's cute," Dana said, giving him a once over. "He's your boyfriend?"  
"Evan? No, he's just a friend."  
"Have your eye on anybody?"  
"Dana!" Jessica said, smiling. She glanced around the room, and  
suddenly time stopped. Jessica's heart gave a painful lurch. Not more  
than ten feet away was Jeremy and the girl he had been hanging out  
with the other day dancing. _What the hell is he doing here?_ Jessica  
wondered. Jeremy's hands were resting on the girl's thin waist, and  
her arms were encircled possessively around his neck. She was  
wearing a dress of sparkling silver, that looked stunning with her tan  
skin and black hair."  
She saw Lila heading towards them. "Li?" Jessica hissed. "Who is that?"  
she said pointing. Dana and Lila both stared curiously.  
"That's Amanda Kellerman," Lila said, giving Jessica an odd look. "I  
know her from the country club. Her dad is vice president of some  
big car industry." She gave Jessica a sympathetic look.  
Jessica stood unmoving. What was Jeremy doing with that girl? Had  
he really gotten over her? Jessica had told herself the past two weeks  
that Jeremy was just disappointed in her; he wasn't really angry.  
Evan came up and handed Jessica her drink. Since Jessica was too  
dazed to say anything or do anything, the glass fell to the floor with a  
crash. Jeremy and Amanda both looked up. Jessica stared at them,  
horrified. She couldn't say anything, Lila and Dana were staring at  
her in shock, Evan looked confused, and Jeremy looked surprised.  
Jessica turned and fled out, up the stairs, into Lila's room, and out  
onto Lila's balcony. She started to cry. She had lost Jeremy to some  
horrible rich bh.  
She heard footsteps behind her. Thinking it was Evan or Lila, she  
turned around. She was shocked to see Jeremy standing there.  
"Hey," he said quietly, joining her on the balcony.  
Jessica wrapped her arms tightly around her. The warm air, and the  
sweet scent of the flowers on the railing, mixed with the presence  
of Jeremy left her overwhelmed.  
"Are you okay?" he asked softly, reaching out to touch her.  
Jessica stepped back. "What are you doing here? And who is  
that girl?"  
"Amanda," Jeremy said dejectedly. "It's not what you think. I know  
that sounds lame. She's not my girlfriend, or a date, or whatever.  
She's just a friend. Well, not even a friend really."  
"Why are you here with her then?" Jessica asked, tears forming in  
her eyes.  
"I wanted to see you," Jeremy said simply. "I knew Lila was your  
friend and that you would be here. I've missed you like crazy, Jess.  
You're all I think about. I've been living in some demented Jessica  
fog for the past few weeks. I was stupid to be angry with you. I  
wasn't really angry, I thought you were still hung up on that dork  
Conner."  
Jessica smiled slightly, and fell into his warm arms. "Stupid, why didn't  
you just call me?"  
Jeremy softly stroked her hair. "Because that would have been too easy.  
I had to make the whole ordeal a confusing mess, like some lame teen  
romance. Plus, I'm so crazy about you, I can't think straight. It would take  
more than two weeks to get over you."  
Jessica laughed. "Complications make life more dramatic," she teased.  
"I missed you too," she admitted. "We're both idiots. I never really liked  
Conner, at least, not really. He was just really hot," she confessed. "When  
he dumped me it was more a blow to my pride than my heart, all I wanted  
was to get revenge. But with you...I really did miss you. It's funny, the last  
time I saw you at a party, I was trying so hard to get away from you, you  
know you _really_ annoyed me at first," she admitted.  
Jeremy chucked lightly. Jessica continued, "I was stupid to believe that  
you liked that shallow poser, but she _is_ pretty," Jessica pointed out.  
"Yeah, but so are you. But she's not sweet, or kind, or funny like you are.  
If it was just looks I was into, I would be making out with her in my dad's  
backseat. But I love _you_ Jess. The first time I saw you at the House of  
Java, the night of Conner's concert I knew you were special. I mean,  
Liz is a great girl, but you're something more. When I saw you and  
Conner together, it was killing me, and for the first time in my life, I had  
lost control of my feelings over a girl. You're the one, Jess" he said,  
lightly touching her cheek.  
Jessica smiled up at him. It was the first time he had told her that he  
loved her. "I love you too, Jeremy," she said wrapping her arms around  
his neck. He gave her a long, lingering kiss that left both of them  
slightly dizzy.  
"So I guess this means we're back together," Jeremy quipped.


	21. Sleepover

_A month and a half later_

"I think we're all done!" Jessica said, smiling at her sister.  
"_We_?" Elizabeth said raising an eyebrow. "What, may I ask, did _ you_  
do?"  
Jessica glanced over at the large cooler in the corner of Elizabeth's  
room, and the trays of food. Then she grabbed a small wooden bowl of  
onion dip. "I put the dip into this cute little bowl," she said triumphantly.  
"Wow, Jess. I think you saved the party, I don't think we would have  
been able to have it if it weren't for that stupid dip," Liz said walking  
downstairs toward the kitchen.  
"Don't be such a bh," Jessica said, following her. "Just because  
you're like the wonder twin. I told you I'd take care of everything. This  
is supposed to be your party. I mean, you're finally ungrounded."  
"_Finally_," Elizabeth said, sighing with pleasure. She opened the  
fridge, and began rooting inside.  
"I mean," Jessica continued. "We couldn't have it last night when you  
were officially free because you had to go suck face with Conner."  
"And what is wrong with that?" a deep voice came from by the patio  
door. Liz and Jessica both spun around.  
"Conner, you know we do have something called a doorbell," Jessica  
said. "Plus, what are you doing here?"  
Elizabeth slammed the fridge shut, and holding a can of frosting she  
went over and threw her arms around Conner.  
"Hey babe," he said, wrapping her protectively to his chest. "Got any  
big plans tonight? I thought we'd go to Secca Lake for a swim."  
"It's seven-thirty," Jessica pointed out.  
"I know," Conner said, lightly kissing Liz.  
"As wonderful as that sounds," Elizabeth said pulling back. She pulled  
open a drawer and grabbed a spatula. She began frosting a pan of  
brownies that she had made earlier that afternoon. Conner eyed them hungrily.  
"First off, these aren't for you," she said, jabbing him lightly. "And  
I already have plans. Jess and I are having a sleepover party."  
"Oh, so that explains Jessica's clothing," Conner said laughing.  
"Hey," she said, placing her hands on her hips. "These are cute!"  
"Come on Jess," he snorted. "Rainbow ponies?"  
"My Little Pony," Jessica corrected him. Then she grabbed the plate of  
watermelon slices and hurried upstairs. "Spare me, I caught the Liz and  
Conner reunion last night. You guys were sick," she said referring to their  
bump and grind dancing at the Riot the previous evening.  
So what kind of sexy pajamas are you going to wear?" Conner said,  
sitting on the barstool next to Liz.  
"I haven't had time to change. Of course since it was Jessica's party  
that meant I had to do all the work."  
"Can I stay," Conner said in a gravelly voice. "I'll be really quiet."  
"No," Elizabeth said smiling. "I don't want you checking other girls  
out."  
"I wouldn't," he said staring at her intently.  
"If you want, I'll model them for you later, privately," she said. She  
started to cut the brownies up. "Crap, I got some frosting on my  
finger." She prepared to get up, but Conner grabbed her finger and gently  
sucked it off her finger.  
Conner stood up. "I'll see ya, Wakefield."  
"Wait," Elizabeth said. Conner turned around and Elizabeth jammed a  
brownie in his mouth.  
Conner sputtered and she grabbed his hand. "The guests will be another  
half hour," she said smiling at him. "Now it's my turn to taste _you_."  
  
An hour later, Elizabeth went up to her room. All of their friends were  
sprawled out across her floor, gossiping, doing each other's hair, and  
flipping through magazines. They had decided to have the party in  
Elizabeth's room, because you could hardly even walk across Jessica's.  
Amy, Lila, Melissa, Gina, Cherie, Tia, Maria, and Enid all looked up at  
her as she walked in.  
"Late for your own party," Lila teased.  
"What were you doing? Rolling around in a field?" Maria said.  
Elizabeth glanced in the mirror at her rumpled clothing and disarrayed  
hair.  
"Leave her alone," Cherie said. "She's just enjoying her freedom. If  
Conner was _ my_ boyfriend, I wouldn't be hanging out with you guys."  
Gina snorted. "You just wish Conner was your boyfriend."  
Cherie bopped Gina with her pillow. "You're right, I do wish that," she  
said finally. "No offense Liz."  
"Why should Liz be offended," Melissa said smirking. "You're never  
going to get him. Not that you haven't tried."  
Tia, Melissa, and Gina all snickered.  
"What?" Liz said, running a brush through her hair.  
"Oh, I used to do dumb things to get his attention," Cherie said  
lightly. "They're probably thinking of the time that I was wearing these four  
inch heels and I was about ready to go down the stairs at school, but I  
saw Conner coming, so I stopped and stood there real flirty, and as he  
passed by, I kind of shifted seductively, my heel got caught on the  
step, and I tumbled down the stairs."  
Everyone started laughing. "And the worst part," Tia said, as she  
braided Amy's hair. "Was that he didn't notice her!"  
"That wasn't what I was remembering," Melissa said, shooting Cherie a  
knowing look. "It was during our sophomore year, and Cherie read an  
article that said guys like girls who bake. And Cherie isn't exactly Julia  
Child. But she made a tray of chocolate chip cookies, and gave Conner  
one."  
"And Conner will eat anything," Tia interrupted.  
"But Cherie had misread the recipe," Melissa continued. Instead of half  
a teaspoon of salt, she put in one and a half _table_spoons of salt!"  
"You should have seen the look on Conner's face," Gina hooted.  
Cherie was blushing. "Like any of you haven't embarrassed yourself over  
a guy before," she muttered.  
"You're better off not going out with him," Tia assured her. "You would  
have just been one of his generic flavor of the weeks girls."  
"I miss those," Melissa said wistfully.  
"What?" Elizabeth said, pulling her jeans off, and putting on a pair of  
stain unicorn pajama shorts.  
"Oh, they were just so…funny," Melissa, said, biting on a brownie.  
"Remember Amanda Dobson?" Gina said between giggles.  
"What did she do?" Enid asked.  
"She brought her hamster on their date!" Tia said. "Conner dumped her  
that night. I think it lasted for an hour."  
Jessica rolled her eyes. "Enough with the Conner talk." Jessica turned  
towards Cherie. "So, what happened between you and Bruce? From personal  
experience, I'll say you made a mistake. He kisses like a dead  
jellyfish," and she exploded into giggles.  
Lila, Amy, and Liz all agreed. "You all kissed him," Cherie said  
incredulously. She waved her hand. "It was okay, I just wanted to get away  
from Andy."  
"He's such a geek, you were psycho to even think about dating him,"  
Gina said snidely.  
"Seriously," Amy chimed in.  
"Hey," Tia protested.  
"Sorry, Tee. But it's true," Cherie said. "I probably made his year by  
agreeing to go to the party with him. "He picked me up, and when we had  
parked in Li's driveway, he jumped on me. His hands were everywhere. My  
face, my shoulders, my dress straps, my zipper. I swear, he spent the  
whole evening staring at my chest."  
"Why did you invite Bruce anyway?" Amy asked Lila.  
"Yeah," Jessica said curiously.  
Lila blushed. "Well, fine, it's like this. Remember how I said I was  
only dating college guys? Well, after school I began heading towards  
south point beach, I mean it's right near the university. But all the guys  
that were there were kind of lame. But there was this one guy whom was  
always running by himself. I kept going back to see if there was any  
guy that would be cool enough to be seen in public with. But usually I  
just watched that guy run. He seemed so sad and alone. And soon I realized  
I was going to the beach just to see him." Lila took a deep breath.  
"It's Ken. I'm dating Ken Matthews."  
Enid's eyes widened. "Wow, he's been like a walking zombie all year  
since Olivia died."  
"Yeah, for a while I just ran with him. We didn't even talk. Then we  
started talking and stuff. But I invited Bruce because I didn't want to  
seem like a hypocrite."  
"Wow," Jess said softly. "It sounds serious."  
"It is," Lila said happily. "He's not so sullen and I'm trying not to  
be so snobby."  
"You're lucky," Maria said. "I would kill for a boyfriend. Something  
long term like you and Will," she said to Melissa.  
"Yeah," Amy said. "You guys are so lucky."  
"Yeah," Melissa said, agreeing.  
"When did you know that he was the one?" Enid said smiling.  
"It was our freshman year," Melissa began. "Every morning Will, Cherie,  
and I walked to school. We always stopped at the House of Java for  
take out coffee because Cherie and I are caffeine addicts. I always  
ordered a latte with one sugar and 2 creams; Cherie always had a latte with  
two sugars. One morning, Cherie was late so we went on ahead of her. We  
stopped, and I ordered both of our coffees, but forgot to stop at the  
table to pick up our sugars and creams. Will stopped me and handed me  
two creams and a sugar. I thanked him and asked what Cherie usually took,  
and he told me he had no idea."  
"That's so sweet," Amy said.  
Elizabeth smiled as Tia launched into a funny story about her and  
Angel. She grabbed a brownie and stuffed it into her mouth. She was so happy  
to finally be free, and as she looked at the laughing and smiling faces  
of her friends, she could hardly believe that just two months ago she  
hadn't had any friends. But here she was with great friends, an awesome  
boyfriend, and the best sister that she could have asked for. She knew she didn't  
deserve to have all these good people around her, but she was grateful all the same.  
She thought back to the letter that she had received from Gabe that week.

Dear Liz,

Hey, I hope you're doing all right. I'm doing fine...actually that's a lie. (I just don't want  
you to worry about me! You have enough problems.) Right after you left I decided to  
go home. It wasn't until after I had left you that I realized how lonely I was. I loved  
being on my own and seeing America...but I really missed my home. To make a long story  
short, I came back home and my dad and I are working things out. We both were unhappy  
with how things had been going, and we're talking about stuff. Plus, I'm going to start college  
this winter (I'd knew you'd be proud!). But I'm not doing law or business like my dad wanted. I'm  
majoring in English and art. I really hope you're okay (and not back with that jerk, Conner). I miss  
you. Thanks for everything you did for me. I know you don't think that you did anything,  
but you did so much. Thanks for being a great friend, and keep in touch!

Love, Gabe

Elizabeth caught her sister's eye and smiled. Yes, she had a lot to be thankful for.  
The worst year of her life, might very well end up one of her best.

Wow, I finally finished! I hope everyone enjoyed it...I think it turned out okay. Thanks  
so much to everyone who reviewed! You guys are awesome!!!


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